^tt  Life  0f 
General 

Thomas  J.  Jackson, 


("STONEWALL.') 


*^~~ 


In  Easy  Words  for  the  Young 

Mrs.M.L^Wixliamson. 

B.EJohnson  Publishing  Co. 

RICHMOND.  VA.  U.S.A. 


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From  the  Library  of 

BENNEHAN  CAMERON 

1854-1925 

Presented  by 
his  daughters 

Isabel  C.  Van  Lennep 

and 

Sally  C.  Labouisse 


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in  2012  with  funding  from 

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THE  LIEE 


or 


GenThos.JJackson 

"Stonewall" 

POP  THE  YOUNG, 

(TOURTH  READER  GRADE) 

In  Easy  Words, 
illustrated.  . 

t(5*    c5*'      KG* 

Bv  MRS.  MARY  L  WILLIAMSON. 

i?*    t^fc    (i7* 


B.  T.  JOHNSON  PUBLISHING  CO. 
RICHMOND,  VA. 


Copyright,  i8gg, 
BY 

MRS.  MARY  L.  WILLIAMSOI 


\n-i  -C.  VV.  S. 


DEDICATED 

TO  ALL  YOUTHS  WHO 

ADMIRE   THE   CHRISTIAN  VIRTUES 

.    AND  MILITARY  GENIUS  OF 

THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 


PREFACE. 

Continuing  the  argument  set  forth  in  the  "Life  of 
Gen.  Lee  for  Children,"  that  we  can  advance  primary 
education  and  impress  lessons  of  morality  upon  children 
in  no  better  way  than  to  place  before  them  the  careers 
of  our  great  men,  I  now  give,  in  simple  words,  the  "  Life 
of  Gen.  Thos.  J.  Jackson." 

In  this  brief  sketch  of  our  great  Southern  hero,  I  have 
endeavored  to  portray,  amid  the  blaze  of  his  matchless 
military  genius,  the  unchanging  rectitude  of  his  conduct, 
the  stern  will-power  by  which  he  conquered  all  diffi- 
culties, his  firm  belief  in  an  overruling  Providence,  and 
his  entire  submission  to  the  Divine  Will.  These  traits 
of  character  were  the  corner-stones  upon  which  he 
reared  the  edifice  of  his  greatness,  and  upon  which  the 
young  people  of  our  day  will  do  well  to  build. 

Teachers  may  introduce  this  book  as  a  supplementary 
reader  into  the  fourth  grade,  as  I  have  been  careful  to 
employ  as  few  words  as  possible  outside  of  the  voca- 
bulary of  that  grade. 

In  preparing  this  work,  I  used  chiefly  as  reference  and 
authority  the  Life  of  Lieut. -Gen.  Thomas  J.  Jackson,  by 
Prof.  R.  L.  Dabney,  D.  D.,  who  was,  for  a  time,  Jack- 
son's chief  of  staff,  and  who  had  personal  knowledge  of 
his  character  and  military  exploits. 

Acknowledgment  is  due  Col.  James  H.  Morrison  for 
valuable  assistance  rendered,  and  to  Mrs.  Thomas  J. 
Jackson,  of  Charlotte,  N.  C,  and  Mr.  M.  Miley,  of  Lex- 
ington, Va.,  for  furnishing  valuable  illustrative  matter. 

I  am  also  indebted  to  the  kindness  of  Messrs.  Paxton 
and  Henkel,  the  editors,  respectively,  of  the  Rockbridge 
County  News  and  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  for  files  of  their 
reliable  journals,  containing  accounts  of  the  more  recent 
events  recorded  in  the  last  chapter. 

Mary  Lynn  Williamson. 
New  Market,  Va., 


Stonewall  Jackson's  Wav. 


Des  Rivieres, 


Come !  stack  arms,  men  ;  pile  on  the  rails, 

Stir  up  the  camp-fires  bright ; 
No  matter  if  the  canteen  fails, 

We'll  make  a  roaring  night. 
Here  Shenandoah  brawls  along, 
There  lofty  Blue  Ridge  echoes  strong 
To  swell  the  brigade's  rousing  song 

Of  "  Stonewall  Jackson's  Way." 

We  see  him  now— the  old  slouched  hat 

Cocked  o'er  his  eye  askew  ; 
The  shrewd,  dry  smile,  the  speech  so  pat, 

So  calm,  so  blunt,  so  true. 
The  '"  Blue  Light  Elder  "  knows  them  well : 
Says  he,  "  That's  Banks— he's  fond  of  shell ; 
Lord  save  his  soul !  we'll  give  him-  ."    Well, 

That's  Stonewall  Jackson's  Way. 

Silence  !  ground  arms  !  kneel  all !  caps  off ! 

"Old  Blue  Light's"  going  to  pray; 
Strangle  the  fool  who  dares  to  scoff ! 

Attention !  it's  his  way  : 
Appealing  from  his  native  sod, 
In  forma  pauperis  to  God — 
"  Lay  bare  thine  arm,  stretch  forth  thy  rod  ; 

Amen !  "    That's  Stonewall  Jackson's  Way. 

He's  in  the  saddle  now.    Fall  in  ! 

Steady  !  the  whole  brigade ! 
Hill's  at  the  ford,  cut  off !    We'll  win 

His  way  out  ball  and  blade. 
What  matter  if  our  shoes  are  worn? 
What  matter  if  our  feet  are  torn  ? 
Quick  step  !  we're  with  him  e'er  the  morn ! 

That's  Stonewall  Jackson's  Way. 

The  sun;s  bright  glances  rout  the  mists 

Of  morning— and,  by  George  ! 
There's  Longstreet  struggling  in  the  lists, 

Hemmed  in  an  ugly  gorge. 
Pope  and  his  columns  whipped  before. — 
"  Bay' nets  and  grape ! "  hear  Stonewall  roar ; 
"Charge,  Stuart!  payoff  Ashby's  score!" 
Is  "Stonewall  Jackson's  Way.'-' 


Life  of  Gen.  T.  J.  Jackson. 


CHAPTER  I. 

An  Orphan  Boy. 

Thomas  Jonathan  Jackson  was  born  Jan- 
uary 21,  1824,  at  Clarksburg,  West  Virginia, 
which  state  was  then  a  part  of  old  Virginia. 
He  sprang  from  Scotch-Irish  stock.  His 
great-grandfather,  John  Jackson,  -was  born 
in  Ireland,  but  his  parents  moved  to  the 
city  of  London  when  John  was  only  two 
years  old.  John  Jackson  grew  up  to  be  a 
great  trader.  In  1748  he  came  to  the  New 
World  to  make  his  fortune,  and  landed  in 
the  State  of  Maryland.  Not  long  after,  he 
married  Elizabeth  Cummins,  a  young  woman 
who  was  noted  for  her  good  looks,  fine  mind, 
and  great  height. 


10 


THE  LIFE   OF  GEN.    THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 


John  Jackson  with  his  wife  soon  moved 
West,  and  at  last  took  up  lands  in  what  is 
now  known  as  Upshur  county,  West  Virginia. 
As  land  was  then  cheap,  he  soon  owned  a 

■  -  • 


House  in  which  Jackson  was  Born,   Clarksburg,  Va. 

large  tract  of  country,  and  was  a  rich  man 
for  those  times.  He  was  greatly  aided  by 
his  brave  wife,  Elizabeth.  In  those  days 
the  Indians  still  made  war  upon  the  whites, 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.   •      11 

who  would  flee  for  safety  into  the  forts  or 
strongholds.  It  is  said  that  in  more  than 
one  of  those  Indian  raids  Elizabeth  Jackson 
aided  in  driving  off  the  foe. 


Father  of  "Stonewall"  Jackson. 

When  the  great  Revolutionary  war  came 
on,  John  Jackson  and  several  of  his  sons 
marched  to  the  war;  and  at  its  close  came 
back  safe  to  their  Virginia  home.  In  these 
lovely  and  fertile  valleys,  John  Jackson  and 


12  THE  LIFE   OF  GEN.    THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

his  wife  Elizabeth  passed  long  and  active 
lives.  The  husband  lived  to  be  eighty-six 
years  old,  while  his  wife  lived  to  the  great 
age  of  one  hundred  and  five  years.  Her 
strength  of  body  and  mind  fitted  her  to 
rear  a  race  of  mighty  men. 

Thomas  Jonathan  was  the  great-grandson 
of  these  good  people.  His  father,  Jonathan 
Jackson,  was  a  lawyer.  He  is  said  to 
have  been  a  man  of  good  mind  and  kind 
heart.  Thomas's  mother  was  Julia  Neale, 
the  daughter  of  a  merchant  in  the  then 
village  of  Parkersburg,  on  the  Ohio  river. 
Mrs.  Jackson  was  good  and  beautiful. 
Thomas  had  one  brother,  Warren,  and  two 
sisters,  Elizabeth  and  Laura.  Not  long  after 
the  birth  of  the  baby  Laura,  Elizabeth  was 
taken  sick  with  fever  and  died.  Her  father, 
worn  out  with  nursing,  was  also  taken  ill; 
and  two  weeks  after  her  death  he  was  laid 
in  a  grave  by  her  side. 

After  his  death  it  was  found  that  he  had 
left  no  property  for  his  widow  and  babes. 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.  13 

They  were  now  without  a  home,  and  the  Ma- 
sonic Order  gave  the  widow  a  house  of  one 
room.  Here  she  sewed,  and  taught  school, 
caring  as  well  as  she  could  for  her  little 
fatherless  children. 

In  the  year  1830  she  married  Mr.  Wood- 
son, a  lawyer,  who  was  pleased  with  her 
youth  and  beauty.  Her  children — Warren, 
Thomas,  and  Laura — were  now  claimed  by 
their  father's  family,  who  did  not  like  the 
second  marriage  of  the  mother. 

As  her  new  husband  was  not  a  rich  man, 
she  was  at  last  forced  to  give  them  up.  Little 
Jonathan,  then  only  seven  years  old,  was 
placed  behind  good,  old  "Uncle  Robinson," 
the  last  of  his  father's  slaves,  and  sent  away 
to  his  aunt,  Mrs.  Brake,  who  lived  about  four 
miles  from  Clarksburg. 

After  being  one  year  at  his  aunt's  he  was 
sent  for  to  see  his  mother  die.  Death  for 
her  had  no  sting;  and  Thomas,  long  years 
after,  said  that  her  dying  words  and  prayers 
had  never  been  erased  from  his  heart.      She 


14  THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

was  laid  to  rest  not  far  from  the  famous 
Hawk's  West,  on  New  river,  West  Virginia. 

Jonathan  was  then  a  pretty  child,  with 
rosy  cheeks,  wavy  brown  hair,  and  deep-blue 
eyes,  It  is  said  of  him  that,  as  a  child,  he 
was  strangely  quiet  and  manly.  The  sad- 
ness of  his  young  life  made  him  grave  and 
thoughtful  beyond  his  years.  When  he  was 
but  eight  years  old  he  went  one  day  to  the 
home  of  his  father's  cousin,  Judge  John  G-. 
Jackson,  in  Clarksburg. 

While  eating  his  dinner,  he  said  to  Mrs. 
Jackson  in  a  quiet  way,  "Uncle  and  I  don't 
agree.  I  have  quit  him  and  shall  not  go 
back  any  more."  His  kind  cousin  tried  to 
show  him  that  he  was  in  fault  and  that  he 
should  go  back  to  his  Uncle  Brake*.  He 
only  shook  his  head  and  said  more  firmly 
than  ever,  "No,  uncle  and  I  don't  agree. 
I  have  quit  him  and  shall  not  go  back  any 
more."  It  seems  that  his  uncle  had  tried  to 
govern  him  by  force  rather  than  through  his 
sense  of  right  and  wrong.     So,  this  strange 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.  15 

child  calmly  made  up  his  mind  not  to  stay 
where  there  would  be  constant  warfare. 

From  Judge  Jackson's  he  went  that  even- 
ing to  the  home  of  another  cousin,  who  also 
tried  to  persuade  him  to  return  to  his  Uncle 
Brake.  But  Jonathan  only  said,  "I  have 
quit  there.  I  shall  not  go  back  there  any 
more."  The  next  morning  he  set  out  alone 
and  on  foot,  and  went  eighteen  miles  to  the 
home  of  his  uncle,  Cummins  Jackson,  the 
half-brother  of  his  father. 

There  he  found  his  brother  Warren,  and 
soon  felt  quite  at  home  with  his  kind  uncle 
and  aunts.  His  Uncle  Cummins  was  a 
bachelor,  who  owned  a  line  farm  and  mills, 
and  was  one  of  the  largest  slave-owners  in 
Lewis  county. 

He  was  quite  fond  of  his  little  nephew, 
and  took  pains  to  teach  him  all  the  arts  of 
country  life.  He  treated  him  more  as  an 
equal  than  as  a  child,  for  he  saw  at  once  the 
noble  nature  with  which  he  had  to  deal.  He 
also  sent  Thomas  and  Warren  to  the  nearest 


16  THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

county  school,  but  Warren,  now  a  bold  lad 
of  fourteen  years,  did  not  like  such  restraint. 
He  at  last  induced  Thomas  to  go  with  him 
from  their  uncle's  home  to  seek  their  fortunes 
in  the  great  West. 

After  stopping  for  a  time  at  the  home  of 
their  uncle  on  the  Ohio  river,  they  went 
down  that  river,  and  for  some  months  were 
not  heard  from. 

In  the  fall  of  that  year,  they  returned  to 
their  kind  friends,  ragged,  and  ill  with  chills 
and  fever. 

Their  story  was  that  they  made  a  rale 
and' floated  down  to  one  of  the  lonely  islands 
in  the  Mississippi  river  near  the  Kentucky 
shore,  where  they  cut  wood  for  steamboats 
on  the  river.  Here  they  spent  the  summer 
alone,  with  little  food,  in  the  midst  of  a 
dense  forest  surrounded  by  the  turbid,  rush- 
ing waters  of  the  great  Mississippi. 

At  last,  illness  forced  them  to  seek  their 
way  homeward;  and  Thomas  boldly  said 
that  he  was  going  back  to  his  good  Uncle 


Warren  and  Thomas  on  the  Ohio  river. 


(17) 


18  THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

Cummins.  Warren  stopped  at  the  home  of 
his  Uncle  Brake,  but  disease  had  laid  so 
firm  a  hold  upon  him  that,  after  lingering  a 
few  years,  he  died,  aged  about  nineteen. 

Thomas  and  Laura  were  now  all  that  were 
left  of  the  little  family.  They  lived  together 
for  several  months  at  their  Uncle  Cummins' s, 
and  it  is  told  of  Thomas  that  he  was  very 
fond  of  his  little  sister.  Across  the  brook 
from  the  house  was  a  large  grove  of  sugar- 
maple  trees  where  they  would  go  to  play 
"making  sugar."  It  was  a  great  pleasure 
to  Thomas  to  build  bridges  for  his  little 
sister  to  walk  on  in  crossing  the  stream,  and 
many  were  the  delights  of  the  cool  and 
fragrant  forests.  But  in  a  short  time  Laura 
was  sent  to  live  with  her  mother's  friends 
.in  Wood  county,  and  Thomas  was  left  alone. 
Though  they  could  not  live  together,  Thomas 
always  cherished  the  warmest  love  for  his 
sister,  and  the  very  first  money  he  ever  earned 
was  spent  in  buying  a  silk  dress  for  her. 

Thomas  now  went  to  school  to  Mr.  Eobert 


THE  LIFE   OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.  19 

P.  Kay.  He  showed  no  aptness  for  any 
study  except  arithmetic.  When  called  upon 
to  recite  a  lesson,  he  would  flatly  say  that 
he  did  not  understand  it  and,  therefore,  was 
not  ready;  nor  would  he  go  to  the  next  lesson 
until  he  had  learned  the  first  perfectly.  Thus, 
he  was  always  behind  his  class.  He  was 
never  surly  at  school,  but  was  always  ready 
for  a  merry  romp  or  play.  When  there 
were  games  of  "bat  and  ball"  or  "prisoner's 
base,"  he  was  sure  to  be  chosen  captain  of 
one  side,  and  that  side  generally  won. 

As  long  as  he  was  treated  fairly  by  his 
playmates,  he  was  gentle  and  yielding ;  but, 
if  he  thought  himself  wronged,  he  did  not 
hesitate  to  fight  it  out.  It  is  said  that  he 
would  never  admit  that  he  had  been  beaten 
in  a  fray,  and  was  always  ready  to  renew  the 
contest  when  his  foe  assailed  him  again. 

In  the  summer,  Thomas  worked  on  the 
farm  and  became  of  use  to  his  uncle  in 
many  ways.  One  of  his  most  frequent  tasks 
was  to  haul  great  logs  of  oak  and  pine  from 


20  THE  LIFE   OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J  JACKSON. 

the  wood  to  the  saw-mill.  He,  thus,  became 
a  famous  driver  of  oxen,  and  was  known 
throughout  the  country-side  as  a  young  man 
of  great  strength  and  courage. 

So  his  life  was  passed,  from  nine  to  six- 
teen, between  the  school  and  the  farm.  He 
was  then  like  his  father,  of  low  stature,  but 
he  afterwards  grew  tall  like  the  men  of  his 
mother's  race. 

About  this  time,  he  was  made  constable  of 
one-half  of  Lewis  county.  We  see  him  now 
with  his  bag  of  bills  and  account  books 
going  up  and  down  the  hills  of  Lewis  county. 
In  this  work  he  had  to  be  firm  and  exact, 
for  it  was  now  his  task  to  collect  money  due 
for  debts. 

This  story  is  told  of  his  nerve  and  skill  in 
doing  this  unpleasant  duty.  A  man  who 
owed  a  debt  of  ten  dollars  promised  to  pay 
it  at  a  given  time.  The  day  came  and  the 
man  failed  to  keep  his  word.  Young  Jack- 
son paid  the  money  out  of  his  own  purse, 
and  then  watched  for  the  man  who  would 


THE  LIFE   OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.  21 

not  pay  his  debt.  The  very  next  morning 
the  man  came  riding  up  the  street  on  a  good 
horse.  Jackson  at  once  taxed  him  with  not 
keeping  his  word,  and  was  going  to  take  the 
horse  for  the  debt,  when  the  latter  resisted, 
and  a  fierce  fight  took  place  in  the  street. 
In  the  midst  of  the  fray  the  man  mounted 
his  horse  and  was  riding  off. 

Jackson,  however,  sprang  forward  and 
seized  the  bridle.  Seeing  that  he  could  get 
the  man  off  the  horse  in  no  other  way,  he 
led  it  to  the  low  door  of  a  stable  near  by. 
The  man  cuffed  him  right  and  left,  but  Jack- 
son clung  to  the  bridle,  and  pulled  the  horse 
into  the  stable.  The  man  was  thus  forced 
to  slide  off  to  keep  from  being  knocked  off; 
and  Jackson  got  the  horse. 

Though  this  life  in  the  open  air  was  good 
for  the  health  of  our  hero,  it  did  not  benefit 
his  morals.  He  was  kept  much  from  home, 
and  was  thrown  with  the  worst  class  of 
people  in  the  county. 

His  aunts  had  now  married,  and  his  Uncle 


Jackson  and  the  Debtor. 


(22) 


THE  LIFE   OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.  23 

Cummins  was  keeping  "bachelor's  hall." 
He  also  kept  race  horses,  and  none  save 
Thomas  could  ride  for  him  if  a  contest  was 
close. 

It  was  said  through  all  that  country  that 
if  a  horse  could  win,  he  would  do  so  if  young 
Tom  Jackson  rode  him  in  the  race.     • 

It  is  sad  to  think  of  this  young  man 
thrown  upon  the  world  without  mother  or 
sister  or  any  human  influence,  save  his  own 
will,  to  keep  him  in  the  right  way.  But 
in  this  wild,  rough  life  the  great  wish  of 
his  heart  was  to  reach  that  condition  from 
which  he  had  been  thrust  when  left  a  poor 
orphan  boy.  And  even  now  the  great  God, 
who  has  said  that  He  will  be  a  father  to  the 
fatherless,  was  opening  up  a  way  to  a  great 
and  notable  career. 


Constable  (kun'-sta-ble),  an  officer  of  the  peace. 
No-ta-ble,   wonderful. 
Ca-reer',  a  course. 
In'-flu-ence,  power  not  seen. 


24  THE  LIFE   OF  GEN.    THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

Do  you  remember — 

The  name  of  Thomas's  father? 

The  place  of  his  birth  ? 

His  early  loss  of  father  and  mother? 

His  life  at  Uncle  Cummins's? 

The  story  told  of  him  when  constable  ? 

The   wish  of  his  heart  in  the   midst   of  his 
wild,  rough  life  ? 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.  25 


CHAPTER  II. 
A  Cadet. 

In  1842,  the  place  of  a  cadet  in  the  great 
academy  at  West  Point  became  vacant.  In 
that  school  or  academy  the  young  men  of 
the  United  States  are  trained  to  become 
soldiers.  Thomas  at  once  sought  and  secured 
the  place,  and  very  soon  set  out  on  horse- 
back to  Clarksburg,  where  he  would  take 
the  coach  going  to  Washington. 

He  was  clad  in  home-spun  clothes,  and 
his  whole  wardrobe  was  packed  in  a  pair  of 
saddle-bags. 

When  he  reached  Clarksburg,  he  found 
that  the  coach  had  passed  by;  but  he  rode 
on  until  he  overtook  it  and  then  went  on  to 
Washington  city. 

He  was  kindly  met  by  his  friend  Mr. 
Hays,  member  of  Congress  from  his  district, 


26  THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.  THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

who  took  him  at  once  to  the  Secretary  of 
War.  The  latter  was  so  pleased  with  his 
manly  bearing  and  direct  speech  that  he 
ordered  his  warrant  to  be  made  out  at  once. 

Mr.  Hays  wished  him  to  stay  in  Washing- 
ton for  a  few  days  in  order  to  see  the  sights 
of  the  city,  but  he  was  content  to  climb  to 
the  top  of  the  dome  of  the  Capitol,  from 
which  he  could  view  the  whole  scene  at 
once.  He  was  then  ready  to  go  on  to  West 
Point  for  examination.  His  great  trouble 
now  was  the  thought  that  he  might  not 
know  enough  to  stand  that  examination. 

Mr.  Hays  wrote  to  his  friends  at  the 
academy  and  asked  them  to  be  easy  in 
examining  the  mountain  boy,  who  wished  so 
much  to  be  a  soldier;  and  it  is  said  that 
they  asked  him  no  very  hard  questions. 

Thomas  was  now  eighteen  years  old.  He 
had  a  fresh,  ruddy  face,  and  was  strong  and 
full  of  courage. 

The  fourth-class  men  at  this  school  were 
called  by  their  school-mates    "plebs,"  and 


28  THE  LIFE   OF  OEM.   THOMAS  J.  JACKS ON. 

were  made  to  sweep  and  scrub  the  barracks 
and  to  do  other  tasks  of  the  same  kind. 
The  third-class  men  would  play  pranks  upon 
the  new  boys,  some  of  which  were  quite  hard 
to  bear.  Now,  when  they  saw  this  country 
boy  in  his  home-spun  clothes,  they  thought 
that  they  would  have  rare  sport  out  of  him. 
Bat  such  were  his  courage  and  good  temper 
that  they  soon  let  him  alone. 

He  now  studied  hard,  for,  being  behind 
his  class,  he  had  double  work  to  do.  He 
once  said  to  a  friend  that  he  studied  very 
hard  for  what  he  learned  at  West  Point. 

Just  as  when  he  was  a  boy,  if  he  did  not 
understand  the  lesson  of  the  day,  he  would 
not  pass  over  it  to  the  next,  but  would  work 
on  until  he  knew  all  about  it. 

It  was  often  the  case  that  when  called  to 
the  black-board  to  recite,  he  would  say  that 
he  was  still  at  work  on  the  last  lesson.  This, 
of  course,  caused  him  to  get  low  marks,  but 
he  was  too  honest  to  pretend  to  know  what 
he  did  not  understand  at  all.     His  teachers 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.  29 

judged  his  mind  sound  and  strong,  but  not 
quick.  What  he  lacked  in  quickness,  he 
made  up  in  steady  work;  so,  at  the  end  of 
the  fourth  year,  he  graduated  seventeenth  in 
his  class. 

During  the  second  year  at  West  Point,  he 
grew,  as  it  were,  by  a  leap  to  the  height  of 
six  feet;  and  in  his  cadet  uniform  was  very 
fine-looking. 

He  was  neat  in  his  attire,  and  kept  his 
gun  clean  and  bright. 

It  is  said  that  one  day  during  this  year,  he 
found  that  his  bright  musket  had  been  stolen, 
and  that  a  foul  and  rusty  one  had  been  put 
into  its  place. 

He  told  the  captain  of  his  loss,  and  gave 
him  a  mark  by  which  his  gun  might  be 
known.  That  evening  it  was  found  in  the 
hands  of  a  fellow-cadet  who  had  stolen  it 
and  then  told  a  falsehood  to  shield  himself 
from  punishment. 

Jackson  had  been  angry  because  of  his 
musket,  but  now  he  was  deeply  vexed  at  the 


30  THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON 

falsehood,  and  asked  that  the  cadet  should 
be  sent  away,  as  he  was  unfit  to  remain  at 
the  academy.  The  friends  of  the  boy  at 
last  prevailed  upon  him  to  waive  his  right  of 
pressing  the  charge,  and  the  erring  cadet  was 
let  alone.  Not  long  after,  the  cadet  again 
broke  the  rules  of  the  school  and  was  sent 
away  in  disgrace. 

From  this  we  see  that  Jackson  had  at 
that  time  a  hatred  of  all  that  was  low  and 
wicked. 

He  now  wrote,  in  a  blank  book,  a  number 
of  maxims  as  rules  lor  his  life.  They 
touched  on  morals,  manners,  dress,  the 
choice  of  friends,  and  the  aims  of  life.  One 
of  these  rules  every  boy  should  keep  in  mind. 
It  was  this : 

"  You  may  be  whatever  you  resolve  to  be." 

We  shall  see  that  this  was  indeed  the 
guiding  star  of  his  life.  Whatever  he  willed  to 
do  he  always  did  by  sheer  force  of  endeavor. 

At  this  time  it  is  plain  that  it  was  his 
purpose  to  place  his  name  high  up  on  the 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.  31 

roll  of  earthly  honor.  Beneath  his  shy  and 
modest  manners,  there  burned  the  wish  to  be 
truly  great.  His  life  was  not  yet  ruled  by 
love  of  Christ,  but  it  shows  some  of  the 
highest  and  noblest  aims. 

Jackson  was  twenty-two  years  old  when 
he  left  West  Point,  June  30.  1846.  He 
then  took  the  rank  of  second  lieutenant  of 
artillery  in  the  United  States  army.  The 
artillery  is  that  branch  of  an  army  which 
fights  with  cannon,  or  big  guns.  At  that 
time  a  war  was  going  on  between  the  United 
States  and  Mexico.  General  Scott  was  then 
going  to  the  seat  of  war  to  take  the  chiel 
command  of  the  army  of  the  United  States; 
and  Jackson,  the  young  lieutenant,  was  sent 
to  join  him  in  the  south  of  Mexico. 


Ca-det'  (ka-det/),  a  military  pupil. 
Warrant  (wor'-rant),  a  certificate. 
Max'-im  (maks-im),  a  wise  saying. 
Mor'als  (mor-als),  conduct. 
Waive  (wav),  to  give  up. 


32  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

Tell  what  you  remember  about — 
Jackson's  going  to  West  Point. 
His  life  at  West  Point. 
The  cadet  who  stole  his  musket. 
The  important  maxim. 

His  age  and  rank  when   he  left  West  Point. 
The  war  which  was  going  on  at  that  time. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.  33 


CHAPTER  III. 
A  Major  of  Artillery. 

On  the  9th  day  of  March,  1847,  thirteen 
thousand  five  hundred  troops  were  landed  in 
one  day  from  the  American  fleet  upon  the 
sea-shore  near  Vera  Cruz  (Va-ra  Kroos). 

This  fine  army,  with  its  waving  flags  and 
bright  guns,  presented  a  scene  of  splendor 
which  Lieutenant  Jackson  never  forgot. 

General  Scott's  plan  was  to  take  the  city 
of  Yera  Cruz  by  storm,  and  then  march  over 
the  hills  and  valleys  and  lofty  mountains  to 
the  City  of  Mexico. 

This  was  a  hard  task,  and  cost  many  lives, 
as  I  will  show  you. 

On  the  13th  of  March,  General  Scott  had 
placed  his  men  all  around  the  city  of  Vera 
Cruz  and  was  ready  for  battle.  On  the  29th 
of  March,  after  a  fierce  battle,  the  city  was 


Bird's- Eye  View  of  City  of  Mexico. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.  35 

taken  by  the  Americans.  This  was  the  first 
battle  in  which  our  hero  took  part,  and  it  is 
said  that  he  fought  bravely. 

From  Vera  Cruz,  the  army  marched  on 
Until  it  came  to  a  mountain,  on  the  crest  of 
which  was  the  strong  fort  of  Cerro  Gordo 
(Ser'-ro  G6r'-do).  Here,  our  troops  were  led 
by  Captain  Robert  E.  Lee,  of  the  engineers, 
over  a  rough  road  planned  by  him,  to  the 
rear  of  the  Mexicans.  The  Americans  being 
in  front  of  the  Mexicans  and  also  behind 
them,  the  latter  were  soon  put  to  flight, 
leaving  many  men  and  guns  on  the  battle- 
field. 

After  this  battle,  Jackson  was  placed  in 
the  light  artillery,  which  used  small  cannon 
and  moved  rapidly  from  place  to  place. 

This  change  was  just  what  young  Jackson 
wished,  for  though  more  dangerous,  the  light 
artillery  service  gave  him  a  better  chance  to 
win  the  honors  for  which  his  soul  thirsted. 

Santa  Anna,  the  general  of  the  Mexicans, 
now  brought  forward  another  large  army  and 


36  THE  LIFE   OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

placed  it  on  the  mountain  heights  of 
Cherubus'co.  Here,  a  fierce  fight  took  place, 
and  the  Mexicans  were  again  driven  back. 

As  a  reward  for  his  brave  conduct  in  this 
fight,  our  hero  was  given  the  brevet  rank  of 
captain  of  artillery.  The  army  then  marched 
on  over  the  mountains  to  the  strong  castle 
of  Chapultepec  ( Cha-pool'-ta-pek' ) .  This  cas- 
tle was  built  upon  a  high  hill  guarding  the 
plain  which  led  to  the  City  of  Mexico.  The 
level  plain  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  was 
covered  with  crops  of  corn  and  other  grain, 
and  with  groves  of  trees.  Here  and  there 
were  deep  and  wide  ditches  which  the  farm- 
ers had  dug  for  drains.  These  ditches  the 
artillery  and  horsemen  could  not  cross;  in 
fact,  the  growing  crops  so  concealed  them 
that  the  men  could  not  see  them  until  they 
had  reached  their  brinks. 

Within  the  castle  of  Chapultepec  were 
swarms  of  Mexican  soldiers,  while  around  its 
base  were  cannon,  so  placed  as  to  sweep 
every  road  that  led  up  to  it. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.  37 

On  the  13th  of  September  the  assault  was 
made  on  three  sides  at  the  same  time.  Jack- 
son was  sent  with  his  men  and  guns  to  the 
northwest  side.  Two  regiments  of  infantry, 
or  footmen,  marched  with  him. 

They  pushed  forward,  pouring  shot  and 
shell  at  the  foe,  until  they  were  quite  close 
to  their  guns,  and  at  so  short  a  range  that 
Jackson  in  a  few  moments  found  a  number 
of  his  horses  killed  and  his  men  struck  down 
or  scattered  by  the  storm  of  grapeshot. 

Just  at  this  time,  General  Worth,  seeing 
how  closely  Jackson  was  pressed,  sent  him 
word  to  fall  back.  Jackson,  however,  replied 
that  if  General  Worth  would  send  him  fifty 
more  men  he  would  march  forward  and  take 
the  guns  which  had  done  such  deadly  work. 

While  the  troops  were  coming  up,  it  is  said 
that  Jackson  lifted  a  gun  by  hand  across  a 
deep  ditch,  and  began  to  fire  upon  the  Mexi- 
cans with  the  help  of  only  one  man,  the  rest 
of  his  command  being  either  killed,  wounded, 
or  hidden  in  the  ditch. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JAGKSC^ 

Soon  another  cannon  was  moved  across 
the  ditch,  and  in  a  few  moments  the  foe 
was  driven  back  by  the  rapid  firing  of  these 
two  guns. 

By  this  time,  the  men  storming  the  castle 
on  the  other  two  sides  had  fought  their  way 
in,  and  the  Mexicans  began  to  fall  back 
upon  the  City  of  Mexico. 

Orders  had  been  given  that  when  this 
move  took  place,  the  artillery  must  move  for- 
ward rapidly  and  scatter  the  ranks  of  the  foe. 
In  an  instant  Jackson's  guns  were  thunder- 
ing after  the  Mexicans,  fleeing  through  the 
gates  into  the  city. 

The  next  morning,  September  14th,  the 
gates  were  forced  and  the  Americans  marched 
into  the  city  of  Mexico. 

For  his  brave  conduct  in  the  battle  of 
Chapultepec,  Jackson  was  raised  to  the  rank 
of  major. 

In  after  years,  when  he  was  modestly  tell- 
ing of  this  battle,  a  young  man  cried  out, 
"Major,  why  did  you  not  run  when  so  many 


40 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.  THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 


of  your  men  and  horses  were  killed?"  He 
replied,  with  a  quiet  smile,  "I  was  not 
ordered  to  do  so.  If  I  had  been  ordered  to 
run  I  should  have  done  so." 


T.  J.  Jackson  at  the  age  of  twenty-four. 

Once,  when  asked  by  a  friend  if  he  felt  no 
fear  when  so  many  were  falling  around  him, 
he  said  that  he  felt  only  a  great  desire  to 
perform  some  brave  deed  that  would  win  for 
him  lasting  fame.     At  that  time,  his  thoughts 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.  41 

were  chiefly  fixed  upon  the  faithful  perform- 
ance of  his  duty,  and  gaining  honor  and 
distinction  thereby. 

In  the  beautiful  City  of  Mexico,  the  Ameri- 
can army  now  rested  from  warfare.  Some 
months  passed  before  Jackson's  command 
was  ordered  home.  His  duties  being  light, 
he  began  the  study  of  the  Spanish  language, 
and  was  soon  able  to  speak  it  well.  He 
greatly  enjoyed  the  fine  climate  of  Mexico,  and 
admired  the  beauty  and  grace  of  her  women. 

For  the  first  time  in  his  life,  he  began  to 
think  of  religion  and  to  study  the  Bible  in 
search  of  the  truth. 

On  May  26th,  1848,  a  treaty  of  peace  was 
made  between  the  United  States  and  Mexico, 
and  the  war  being  over,  the  American  troops 
were  sent  home. 

Major  Jackson's  command  was  sent  to 
Fort  Hamilton,  about  seven  miles  from  the 
city  of  New  York.  While  there,  he  was  bap- 
tized and  admitted  to  his  first  communion 
in  the  Episcopal  Church. 


42  THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

After  he  had  been  at  Fort  Hamilton  two 
years,  Major  Jackson  was  sent  to  Fort 
Meade,  near  Tampa  Bay,  on  the  west  coast 
of  Florida.  While  at  this  place,  on  the  28th 
of  March,  1851,  he  was  elected  professor  of 
natural  and  experimental  philosophy  and 
artillery  tactics  in  the  Military  Institute  at 
Lexington,  Virginia. 


Bre-veY,  a  commission  which  gives  an  officer  a 
rank  above  his  pay. 

As-sault',  an  attack,  a  violent  onset. 
Cll'mate,    the    prevailing  state  with  regard  to 
heat  and  cold,  &c. 
What  do  you  remember  about — 

The  landing  of  troops  at  Vera  Cruz  ? 

The  assault  upon  the  castle  of  Chapultepec  ? 

The  taking  of   the    City  of  Mexico  by  the 

Americans  ? 
The  new  rank  of  Jackson  ? 
His  life  in  the  City  of  Mexico  ? 
What  he  once  said  about  running  ? 
What  happened  at  Fort  Hamilton  ? 
The  position  which  he  accepted  March  27th, 
1851  ? 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.  THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 


43 


CHAPTER  IV. 

A  Professor. 

In  writing  of  Major  Jackson    as  a  pro- 
fessor, it  seems  highly  appropriate  to  mention 


Entrance  to  tlie  Virginia  Military  Institute  Grounds. 

the  circumstances  leading  to  his  appointment 
to  that  position. 

Reared  in  adverse  circumstances,  which 
prevented  him  in  early  youth  from  receiving 
the  benefits  of  a  good  common-school  educa- 


44  THE  LIFE  OF  GEN   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

tion,  by  his  own  efforts,  mainly,  he  fitted 
himself  to  enter  the  United  States  Military 
Academy  at  West  Point.  His  first  year's 
course  would  have  discouraged  him  in  prose- 
cuting his  studies  had  he  not  been  conscious 
that  there  was  that  within,  which,  if  properly 
nurtured,  would  lead  to  ultimate  success. 
In  his  second  year,  he  raised  his  general 
standing  from  51  to  30;  in  the  third,  from 
30  to  20,  and  in  the  fourth,  his  graduating 
year,  from  20  to  17.  His  upward  progress 
attracted  attention,  and  one  of  his  associates 
remarked:  "Had  Jackson  remained  at  West 
Point  upon  a  course  of  four  years'  longer 
study,  he  would  have  reached  the  head  of  his 
class." 

His  advancement  in  the  Mexican  war, 
rising  rapidly  from  brevet  second  lieutenant 
of  artillery  to  brevet  major,  was  no  less 
marked  than  that  at  the  academy,  and  his 
gallant  and  meritorious  services  had  been 
heralded  to  the  world  through  the  official 
reports  of  his  superiors. 


THE  LIFE   OF  GEN.    THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.  45 

General  Francis  H.  Smith,  superintendent 
of  the  Virginia  Military  Institute,  in  "Insti- 
tute Memorial,"  writes: 

"It  is  not  surprising  that,  when  the  Board 
of  Visitors  of  the  Virginia  Military  Institute 
were  looking  about  for  a  suitable  person  to 
till  the  chair  of  Natural  and  Experimental 
Philosophy  and  Artillery,  the  associates  of 
this  young  and  brave  major  of  artillery 
should  have  pointed  him  out  as  worthy  to 
receive  so  distinguished  an  honor.  Other 
names  had  been  submitted  to  the  Board  of 
Visitors  by  the  Faculty  of  West  Point,  all  of 
men  distinguished  for  high  scholarship  and 
for  gallant  services  in  Mexico.  McClellan, 
Keno,  Rosecrans,  afterward  generals  in  the 
Northern  army,  and  G.  "W.  Smith,  who  after- 
ward became  a  general  in  the  Confederate 
army,  were  thus  named.  But  the  peculiar 
fitness  of  young  Jackson,  the  high  testi- 
monials to  his  personal  character,  and  his 
nativity  as  a  Virginian,  satisfied  the  Board 
that  they  might  safely  select  him  for  the 


46  THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

vacant  chair  without  seeking  candidates 
from  other  States.  He  was,  therefore,  unani- 
mously elected  to  the  professorship  on  the 
28th  of  March,  1851,  and  entered  upon  the 
duties  of  his  chair  on  the  1st  of  September 
following. 

"The  professorial  career  of  Major  Jackson 
was  marked  by  great  faithfulness,  and  by  an 
unobtrusive,  yet  earnest  spirit.  With  high 
mental  endowments,  teaching  was  a  new  pro- 
fession to  him,  and  demanded,  in  the  impor- 
tant department  of  instruction  assigned  to 
him,  an  amount  of  labor  which,  from  the 
state  of  his  health,  and  especially  from  the 
weakness  of  his  eyes,  he  rendered  at  great 
sacrifice. 

"Conscientious  fidelity  to  duty  marked 
every  step  of  his  life  here,  and  when  called 
to  active  duty  in  the  field  he  had  made  con- 
siderable progress  in  the  preparation  of  ah 
elementary  work  on  optics,  which  he  pro- 
posed to  publish  for  the  benefit  of  his  classes. 

"Strict,  and  at  times  stern,  in  his  disci- 


Virginia  Military  Institute  Barracks  (fore-shortened) 


(47) 


48  THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

pline,  though  ever  polite  and  kind,  he  was  not 
always  a  popular  professor ;  but  no  professor 
ever  possessed  to  a  higher  degree  the  confi- 
dence and  respect  of  the  cadets  for  his 
unbending  integrity  and  fearlessness  in  the 
discharge  of  his  duty.  If  he  was  exact  in 
his  demands  upon  them,  they  knew  he  was 
no  less  so  in  his  own  respect  for  and  sub- 
mission to  authority ;  and,  thus,  it  became  a 
proverb  among  them,  that  it  was  useless  to 
write  an  excuse  for  a  report  made  by  Major 
Jackson.  His  great  principle  of  government 
was,  that  a  general  rule  should  not  be  violated 
for  any  particular  good;  and  his  animating 
rule  of  action  was,  that  a  man  could  always 
accomplish  what  he  willed  to  perform. 

"Punctual  to  a  minute,  I  have  known  him 
to  walk  in  front  of  the  superintendent's 
quarters  in  a  hard  rain,  because  the  hour  had 
not  quite  arrived  when  it  was  his  duty  to 
present  his  weekly  class  reports. 

"For  ten  years,  he  prosecuted  his  unwearied 
labors    as   a   professor,  making  during  this 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.  49 

period,  in  no  questionable  form,  such  an 
impress  upon  those  who  from  time  to  time 
were  under  his  command,  that,  when  the 
war  broke  out,  the  spontaneous  sentiment  of 
all  cadets  and  graduates  was,  to  serve  under 
him  as  their  leader.11 

An  incident  is  related  by  General  Smith 
in  the  same  work,  which  shows  clearly  how 
Jackson  was  looked  upon  in  the  community 
in  which  he  resided : 

"He  left  the  Virginia  Military  Institute 
on  the  21st  of  April,  1861,  in  command  of 
the  corps  of  cadets,  and  reported  for  duty 
at  Camp  Lee,  Richmond.  Dangers  were 
thickening  rapidly  around  the  State.  Inva- 
sion by  overwhelming  numbers  seemed  immi- 
nent. Norfolk,  Richmond,  Alexandria,  and 
Harper's  Ferry  were  threatened.  Officers 
were  needed  to  command  at  these  points. 
The  Governor  of  Virginia  nominated  Major 
Jackson  as  a  colonel  of  volunteers.  His 
nomination  was  immediately  and  unani- 
mously confirmed  by  the  Council  of  State. 


50  IRE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  J  A  ORSON. 

and  sent  to  the  Convention  then  in  session. 
Some  prejudice  existed  in  that  body  from 
the  supposed  influence  of  the  Virginia  Mili- 
tary Institute  in  these  appointments,  and 
the  question  was  asked  by  various  members, 
'  Who  is  this  Thomas  J.  Jackson '  ?  A  member 
of  the  Convention  from  the  county  of  Rock- 
bridge, Hon.  S.  McDowell  Moore,  replied: 
1 1  can  tell  you  who  he  is.  If  you  put  Jack- 
son in  command  at  Norfolk,  he  will  never 
leave  it  alive  unless  you  order  Mm  to  do  so.1 
Such  was  the  impress  made  upon  his  neigh- 
bors and  friends  in  his  quiet  life  as  a  pro- 
fessor at  the  Military  Institute." 

In  accepting  the  position  of  professor,  he 
was  again  stepping  higher.  In  active  war- 
fare an  officer  may  advance  rapidly,  but  in 
times  of  peace  he  lives  quietly  at  a  military 
post  and  simply  rusts  out.  Ill-health,  brought 
on  mainly  by  exposure  in  the  Mexican  War, 
caused  Major  Jaccson  to  resign  his  commis- 
sion in  the  army  i  but  in  all  prooaDiiity,  had 
this  not  been  the  case  he  wouicl  have  aban 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.  51 

doned  army  life,  because  he  felt  that  by 
close  study  and  application,  he  could  reach 
a  much  higher  degree  of  mental  excellence 
than  he  had  attained ;  and  the  position  of 
professor  would  enable  him  to  do  this,  for  he 
knew  that  the  best  way  to  learn  was  to 
teach. 

In  consequence  of  the  weakness  of  his 
eyes,  his  great  will-power  had  now  to  be 
exerted  to  the  utmost,  because  he  could  not 
use  his  eyes  at  night.  In  order  to  do  himself 
and  his  classes  justice,  each  morning  after 
class  hours,  he  would  carefully  read  over  the 
lessons  for  the  next  day,  and,  at  night  after 
his  simple  supper,  he  would  quietly  sit  with 
his  face  to  the  wall  and  go  over  in  his  mind 
the  lessons  read  that  day.  In  this  way  he 
made  them  his  own,  and  was  prepared  to 
teach  the  next  day.  This  training  was  of 
great  use  to  him  in  his  after  life  as  a  soldier. 
The  power  of  his  mind  was  such  that  while 
riding,  in  later  years,  at  the  head  of  his  army, 
he  could  study  the  movements  of  the  foe,  and 


52  THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

plan  his  own  with  as  much  care  and  skill  as 
in  the  quiet  of  his  study  at  home. 

The  statement  made  by  General  Smith 
respecting  the  desire  of  the  cadets  to  serve 
under  Major  Jackson  in  the  war  shows  how 
popular  he  was,  and  this  estimate  of  his 
powers  could  have  been  produced  only  by 
their  knowledge  of  his  great  worth. 

"Old  Jack"  was  the  name  given  to  the 
Major  by  the  cadets,  but  it  was  never  used 
derisively.  Pranks  were  played  in  Major 
Jackson's  section  room  by  the  cadets,  but 
more  for  their  own  amusement  than  for  any 
other  purpose.  They  well  knew  the  conse- 
quences if  caught,  but  were  willing  to  run 
the  risk  for  the  sake  of  fun. 

Cadet  Abe  Fulkerson  once  wore  a  collar 
made  out  of  three  fourths  of  a  yard  of  linen, 
(for  no  other  purpose  than  to  produce  a  laugh) 
and  it  made  even  "Old  Jack"  laugh — that 
is,  smile,  which  he  would  not  have  done  if 
the  size,  shape,  or  color  of  collars  had  been 
fixed  by  the  Institute  regulations. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.  53 

Cadet  Davidson  Penn,  with  an  uncom- 
monly solemn  face  and  apparently  in  good 
faith,  once  asked  Major  Jackson,  "  Major,  can 
a  cannon  be  so  bent  as  to  make  it  shoot 
around  a  corner?"  The  Major  showed  not 
the  slightest  sign  of  impatience  or  of  merri- 
ment, but  after  a  moment  of  apparently 
sober  thought,  replied,  ' '  Mr.  Penn,  I  reckon 
hardly." 

It  has  been  said  that  Major  Jackson  never 
smiled  or  laughed.  It  has  just  been  shown 
that  he  smiled  once,  and  there  is  no  doubt 
but  that  if  he  could  have  been  seen  when  he 
read  the  excuse  mentioned  below,  not  only 
would  another  smile  have  been  seen,  but  a 
good,  hearty  laugh  heard.  At  artillery  drill 
one  evening  Major  Jackson  had  given  the 
command,  "Limbers  and  caissons  pass  your 
pieces,  trot,  march ! "  Cadet  Hambrick  failed 
to  trot  at  command  and  was  reported.  The 
next  day  the  following  excuse  was  handed 
in:  Report,  "Cadet  Hambrick  not  trotting 
at  artillery  drill."     Excuse,  "I  am  a  natural 


54  THE  LIFE   OF   GEN.    THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

pacer."     These  three  incidents  are  recounted 
by  Dr.  J.  C.  Hiden,  of  Richmond,  Virginia. 

Cadet  Thos.  B.  Amiss,  who  was  afterwards 
surgeon  of  one  of  Jackson's  Georgian  regi- 


Professor  Jackson's  Class-room,    Virginia  Military  Institute. 

ments,  tried  a  prank  for  the  double  purpose 
of  evading  a  recitation  and  creating  a  laugh. 
He  was  squad-marcher  of  his  section,  and 
after  calling  the  roll  and  making  his  report 
to  the  officer  of  the  day,  he  turned  the  sec- 
tion over  to  the  next  man  on  the  roll,  took  his 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.  55 

place  in  ranks,  and  cautioned  the  new  squad- 
marcher  not  to  report  him  absent.  While 
the  squad-marcher  was  making  his  report 
to  Major  Jackson  whose  eyes  seemed  always 
riveted  to  his  class-book  when  this  was  be- 
ing done,  Amiss  noiselessly  climbed  to  the 
top  of  a  column  that  stood  nearly  in  the 
center  of  the  room.  Having  received  the 
report,  Major  Jackson  commenced  to  call  the 
names  of  those  whom  he  wished  to  recite 
at  the  board,  commencing  with  Amiss;  not 
hearing  Amiss  respond,  he  asked,  "Mr. 
Amiss  absent?"  The  squad-marcher  re- 
plied, "No,  sir."  The  Major  looked  steadily 
along  the  line  of  faces,  seemed  perplexed 
and  cast  his  eyes  upwards,  when  he  spied 
the  delinquent  at  the  top  of  the  column. 
The  Major,  for  a  moment,  gazed  at  the 
clinging  figure  and  said,  "You  stay  there," 
and  Amiss  had  to  remain  where  he  was 
until  the  recitation  was  over.  He  was 
reported,  court-martialed,  received  the  maxi- 
mum number  of  demerits,  and  had  a  large 


56  THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

number  of  extra  tours  of  guard  duty  as- 
signed him,  during  the  walking  of  which 
in  the  lone  hours  of  the  night,  he  had  am- 
ple time  to  repent  of  his  folly. 

When  the  class  that  graduated  in  1860 
commenced  its  recitations  under  Major  Jack- 
son, a  sudden  end  was  made  to  all  kinds  of 
merriment  in  his  class-room.  A  member  of 
the  class,  who  is  now  a  member  of  Congress 
from  Virginia,  concealed  a  small  music-box 
under  his  coatee  and  carried  it  into  the 
class-room.  After  the  recitation  had  com- 
menced he  touched  a  spring  and  the  room 
was  filled  with  sweet,  muffled  strains  of 
music.  Major  Jackson  did  not  hear,  or  if 
he  did,  took  no  notice  of  it.  The  cadet,  find- 
ing that  bis  music  was  not  duly  appreciated, 
commenced  to  bark,  in  very  low  tones,  like  a 
puppy,  and  this  meeting  with  the  same  fate 
as  the  music  he  became  emboldened  and 
barked  louder.  Major  Jackson,  without 
changing  his  countenance,  turning  his  head, 
or  raising  his  voice  above  an  ordinary  tone, 


THE  LIFE   OF  GEN.    THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.  57 

said,  "Mr.  C,  when  you  march  the  section 
in  again,  please  leave  that  puppy  outside." 
The  laugh  was  on  the  young  cadet,  and  the 
result  stated  followed. 

The  following  incident  illustrates  clearly 
how  regardless  Major  Jackson  was  of  public 
opinion  or  personal  feeling  when  in  conflict 
with  duty.  A  young  cadet  was  dismissed 
through  a  circumstance  that  occurred  in 
Major  Jackson's  class-room,  and  he  became 
so  enraged  that  he  challenged  the  Major  to 
light  a  duel,  and  sent  him  word  that  if  he 
would  not  light  he  would  kill  him  on  sight. 
Major  Jackson,  actuated  solely  by  conscien- 
tious motives,  took  the  necessary  precautions 
to  prevent  a  conflict,  and  informed  the  young 
man,  through  his  friends,  that  if  he  were 
attacked  he  would  defend  himself.  The 
attack  was  not  made,  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  the  Major  passed  back  and  forth  as 
usual.  This  cadet,  during  the  Civil  War, 
learned  to  know  Major  Jackson  better,  was 
under  his  command,  and  before  the  close  of 

5 


58  THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

the  war  commanded  the  "Stonewall  Bri- 
gade," which  was  rendered  so  famous  by 
Jackson;  and  in  later  years,  when  asked  his 
opinion  of  this  great  man,  said  that  he  was 
the  only  man  ever  born  who  had  never  been 
whipped. 

Major  Jackson  seemed  to  enjoy  the  duty 
of  drilling  the  artillery  battery  more  than 
any  other  duty  he  had  to  perform,  and  it 
was  natural  that  he  should,  for  he  had  won 
fame  as  an  artillery  officer  in  the  Mexican 
War. 

Near  the  close  of  every  session  of  the  In- 
stitute, Major  Jackson  was  required  to  drill 
the  battery  before  the  Board  of  Visitors ;  and 
in  order  to  make  it  more  interesting  to  the 
public,  always  present  in  large  crowds,  blank 
cartridges  were  fired,  and  the  drill  had  really 
the  semblance  of  a  battery  in  actual  battle. 
An  impressive  scene  was  witnessed  at  this 
drill  in  1860.  It  commenced  at  5  P.  M. 
Major  Jackson  had  put  the  battery  through 
its  various  evolutions,  and  as  the  time  ap- 


60  THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

proached  for  the  firing  to  commence,  seemed 
more  and  more  interested  in  his  work.  His 
old  professor  of  engineering  at  West  Point, 
Dennis  Mahan,  and  the  commandant  of  cadets 
of  that  institution,  Colonel  Hardee,  witnessed 
the  drill.  Ever  since  the  commencement  of 
the  evolutions,  a  dark  cloud  had  been  gather- 
ing in  the  west  and  the  rumbling  of  thunder 
could  be  heard.  The  firing  commenced  and 
all  was  excitement.  Closer  and  closer  came 
the  cloud,  and  the  artillery  of  heaven  seemed 
replying  to  the  discharges  of  the  battery. 
Major  Jackson  had  been  slowly  retreating 
before  the  imaginary  foe,  firing  by  half  bat- 
tery. The  cloud  came  nearer  and  nearer, 
unheeded  by  Jackson.  Suddenly  his  voice 
rang  clear  and  sharp,  "Fire  advancing 
by  half  battery" — the  foe  were  retreating — 
"right-half  battery  advance,  commence 
firing!"  New  positions  were  rapidly  taken, 
and  the  firing  was  at  its  height.  Then  the 
storm  broke  in  all  its  fury.  Up  to  that  time 
the  Major  had  seemed  oblivious  to  all  save 


THE  LIFE   OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.  61 

the  drill.  The  bursting  storm  brought  him 
to  himself  and  he  dismissed  the  battery, 
which  at  once  went  to  shelter.  Major  Jack- 
son remained  where  he  was,  folded  his  arms 
and  stood  like  a  statue  in  the  driving  storm. 
An  umbrella  was  sent  him  from  a  house 
close  by  with  an  invitation  to  come  to  cover. 
He  replied,  "No,  thank  you;"  and  there  he 
stood  until  the  storm  was  over,  doubtless 
thinking  of  the  hard-fought  fields  of  Mexico 
and  the  havoc  he  had  there  wrought. 

In  November,  1851,  Major  Jackson  con- 
nected himself  with  the  Presbyterian  church 
at  Lexington,  then  in  charge  of  the  Kev.  Dr. 
W.  S.  White.  It  now  seemed  his  chief 
desire  to  do  good.  He  was  made  a  deacon 
and  given  a  class  of  young  men  in  the  Sun- 
day school.  Some  of  them  still  live  and 
remember  how  faithfully  he  taught  them. 
He  also  gathered  together  the  African  slaves 
of  the  town  every  Sabbath  evening  for  the 
purpose  of  teaching  them  the  truths  of  the 
Bible.     He  soon  had  a  school  of  eighty  or  a 


62  THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

hundred  pupils  and  twelve  teachers.  This 
school  he  kept  up  from  1855  to  1861,  when 
he  left  Lexington  to  enter  the  army;  and 
until  his  death  it  was  always  a  g^eat  pleasure 
to  him  to  hear  of  his  black  Sunday  school. 

Duty  became  now  more  than  ever  the 
rule  of  his  life — duty  to  God  and  duty  to 
man.  So  great  was  his  regard  for  the  Sab- 
bath that  he  would  not  even  read  a  letter, 
or  mail  one  which  he  knew  would  be  carried 
on  that  day. 

The  Rev.  R.  L.  Dabney  tells  us  that  one 
Sabbath,  when  a  dear  friend,  who  knew  that 
the  Major  had  received  a  letter  from  his  lady- 
love late  on  Saturday  night,  asked,  as  they 
were  walking  to  church,  "Major,  surely  you 
have  read  your  letter?  "  "  Certainly  not, ' '  said 
he.  ' '  What  obstinacy ! ' '  exclaimed  his  friend. 
"Do  you  not  think  that  your  desire  to  know 
its  contents  will  distract  your  mind  from 
divine  worship  far  more  than  if  you  had 
done  with  reading  it?"  "No,"  answered 
he,  quietly,  "I  shall  make  the  most  faithful 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.         63 

effort  I  can  to  control  my  thoughts,  and  as  I 
do  this  from  a  sense  of  duty,  I  shall  expect 
the  divine  blessing  upon  it." 

When  a  single  man,  he  made  it  a  rule  to 
accept,  if  possible,  all  invitations,  saying 
that  when  a  friend  had  taken  the  trouble  to 
invite  him  it  was  his  duty  to  attend. 

Major  Gittings,  once  a  cadet,  and  a  rela- 
tive of  Major  Jackson,  says :  "Speaking  from 
a  social  standpoint,  no  man  ever  had  a  more 
delicate  regard  for  the  feelings  of  others  than 
he,  and  nothing  would  embarrass  him  more 
than  any  contretemps  that  might  occur  to 
cause  pain  or  distress  of  mind  to  others. 
Hence,  he  was  truly  a  polite  man,  and  while 
his  manner  was  often  constrained,  and  even 
awkward,  yet  he  would  usually  make  a 
favorable  impression,  through  his  desire  to 
please." 

-  When  Major  Jackson  first  came  to  Lexing- 
ton he  was  in  ill-health,  and  many  things  he 
did  were  looked  upon  as  odd,  which  were 
really   not  so.     He   had  been  at  a  famous 


64 


THE  LIFE   OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 


water-cure  hospital  in  the  North,  and  had 
been  ordered  to  live  on  stale  bread  and  but- 
termilk and  to  wear  a  wet  shirt  next  to  his 


Major  Jackson"1  s  Home  in  Lexington. 

body.  He  was  also  advised  to  go  to  bed  at 
9  o'clock.  If  that  hour  found  him  at  a  party 
or  lecture,  or  any  other  place,  in  order  to 
obey  his  physician,  he  would  leave. 

The   dyspepsia    with   which   he    suffered 


THE  LIFE   OF  OEJST.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.  65 

often  caused  drowsiness,  and  he  would  some- 
times go  to  sleep  while  talking  to  a  friend 
or  while  sitting  in  his  pew  at  church. 

General  Hill  says  of  him:  "I  have  seen 
his  head  bowed  down  to  his  very  knees 
during  a  good  part  of  the  sermon.  He 
always  heard  the  text  of  our  good  pastor, 
the  Rev.  Dr.  White,  and  the  first  part  of 
the  sermon,  but  after  that  all  was  lost." 
Before  leaving  Lexington,  he  seemed  to  have 
gained  complete  control  over  his  muscles, 
even  while  asleep,  for  no  one,  in  the  few 
years  preceding  his  departure,  ever  saw  "his 
head  and  his  knees  in  contact,"  but  it  was 
a  common  thing  to  see  him  sound  asleep 
while  sitting  perfectly  upright. 

Before  marriage,  Major  Jackson  had  his 
room  in  barracks,  but  took  his  meals  at  a 
hotel  in  Lexington,  and  it  has  been  said  by 
some  that  his  eccentricities  caused  much 
comment ;  more  than  that,  he  was  laughed  at 
and  insulted  by  rude,  coarse  persons.  This 
could  hardly  have  been  true,  for  an  insult 


66  THE  LIFE   OF  GEN.    THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

offered  to  "Old  Jack"  would  certainly  have 
been  found  out  in  some  way,  and  if  not  re- 
sented personally,  it  would  have  been  by  the 
cadets  to  a  man.  One  who  lived  in  Lexington 
during  four  years  of  Major  Jackson's  resi- 
dence there,  and  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 
century  after  the  war,  never  heard  of  these 
insults,  and,  surely,  had  they  ever  been  given 
they  would  have  been  talked  of,  for  Jackson's 
name  was  on  every  tongue,  and  the  incidents 
of  his  life,  from  boyhood  to  death,  were 
almost  a  constant  subject  of  conversation. 

Though  Major  Jackson  was  very  modest, 
no  man  ever  relied  more  fully  upon  himself. 
Mentioning  one  day  to  a  friend  that  he  was 
going  to  begin  the  study  of  Latin,  he  received 
the  reply  that  one  who  had  not  studied  the 
forms  of  that  language  in  youth  could  never 
become  master  of  it  in  later  years.  To  this 
Jackson  replied,  "No;  if  I  attempt  it,  I  shall 
become  master  of  the  language.  /  can  do 
what  I  will  to  do.11 

This  stern  will-power  came  to  the  aid  of 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.  67 

his  ambition  many  times.  He  found  it  dif- 
ficult to  speak  in  public,  and  in  order  to  ac- 
quire the  art,  he  joined  a  literary  club  called 
the  "Franklin  Society."  He  was  always  at 
the  meetings,  and  spoke  in  his  turn ;  but,  at 
first,  his  efforts  were  painful  both  to  himself 
and  to  his  hearers.  His  health  was  poor,  his 
nerves  were  unstrung,  and  sometimes  he  was 
so  confused  that  he  would  break  down  in  the 
middle  of  a  sentence  for  want  of  the  right 
word.  When  this  happened,  he  would  quietly 
sit  down,  and  when  his  turn  in  the  debate 
came  again  would  rise  and  make  another  at- 
tempt. Thus,  before  the  close  of  the  debate, 
he  would  succeed  in  telling  what  was  in  his 
mind.  By  thus  trying  time  after  time,  he  be- 
came a  good  speaker. 

Soon  after  joining  the  Presbyterian  church, 
good  Dr.  White,  his  pastor,  called  upon  him 
to  pray  in  public.  He  prayed  in  such  a 
halting  way  that  Dr.  White  told  him  that  he 
would  never  again  ask  him  to  perform  so 
hard  a  task.     Major  Jackson  replied  that  it 


68  THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

was  a  cross  to  him  to  pray  in  public,  but 
that  he  had  made  up  his  mind  to  bear  it, 
and  did  not  wish  to  be  excused.  So  he  kept 
on  trying,  and  soon  became  a  leader  in 
prayer. 

General  Hill,  speaking  of  this  incident, 
says:  "I  think  his  conduct  in  this  case  was 
due  to  his  determination  to  conquer  every 
weakness  of  his  nature.  He  once  told  me 
that  when  he  was  a  small  boy,  being  sick,  a 
mustard  plaster  was  placed  upon  his  chest, 
and  his  guardian  mounted  him  upon  a  horse 
to  go  to  a  neighbor's  house,  so  that  his  mind 
might  be  diverted  and  the  plaster  kept  on. 
He  said  that  the  pam  was  so  dreadful  that 
he  fainted  soon  after  getting  off  his  horse. 
I  asked  him  if  he  had  kept  it  on  in  order  to 
obey  his  guardian.  He  answered,  'No,  it 
was  owing  to  a  feeling  that  I  have  had  from 
childhood  not  to  yield  to  trials  and  diffi- 
culties.'" 

The  same  close  friend  also  writes:  "Dr. 
Dabney  thinks  that  he  was  timid,  and  that 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.  69 

nothing  but  his  iron  will  made  him  brave. 
I  think  this  is  a  mistake.  The  muscles  of 
his  face  would  twitch  when  a  battle  was 
about  to  open,  and  his  hand  would  tremble 
so  that  he  could  hardly  write.  His  men 
would  see  the  working  of  his  face  and  would 
say,  'Old  Jack  is  making  faces  at  the  Yan- 
kees.' But  all  this  only  showed  weak  nerves. 
I  think  he  loved  danger  for  its  own  sake." 

Like  St.  Paul,  "he  kept  his  body  under," 
and  would  not  let  any  appetite  control  him  or 
any  weakness  overcome  him.  He  used  neither 
coffee,  tobacco,  nor  spirits,  and  he  would  go 
all  winter  without  cloak  or  overcoat  in  the 
mountains  of  Virginia,  giving  as  a  reason 
that  he  "did  not  wish  to  give  way  to  cold." 

For  a  like  reason,  he  never  drank  spirits 
of  any  kind.  It  is  told  of  him  that  once 
during  the  Civil  War,  when  he  was  too  near 
the  outposts  of  the  foe  to  have  fire,  and 
being  greatly  chilled,  he  was  advised  by  his 
surgeon  to  take  a  drink  of  brandy.  He  at 
length  agreed  to  take  some,  but  made  such  a 


70         THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.  THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

wry  face  in  swallowing  it  that  some  one 
asked  him  if  it  choked  him.  "No,"  he  re- 
plied, ' '  I  like  it.  That  is  the  reason  I  never 
use  it."  Another  time,  being  asked  to  take 
a  drink  of  brandy,  he  said,  "No,  I  thank 
you;  I  am  more  afraid  of  it  than  all  the 
Federal  bullets." 

The  immortal  Jackson  afraid  of  strong 
drink !  What  a  lesson  to  people  who  have 
not  the  courage  to  say  "No,"  when  tempted 
to  do  wrong! 

In  the  midst  of  this  busy  life  as  professor, 
Major  Jackson  was  married,  on  August  4th, 
1853,  to  Miss  Eleanor  Junkin,  the  daughter 
of  the  president  of  Washington  College,  Lex- 
ington, Virginia.  This  lovely  lady  lived  only 
fourteen  months  after  her  marriage.  Major 
Jackson's  grief  at  her  death  was  so  great  as 
to  alarm  his  friends.  His  health,  never  good, 
suffered  seriously,  and  his  friends  induced 
him  in  the  summer  of  1856  to  take  a  trip 
to  Europe,  hoping  that  "the  spell  might  be 
broken  which  bound  him  to  sadness." 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.  71 

His  European  trip  benefited  him  very 
materially  in  health  and  spirits,  and  on  his 
return  he,  with  great  zeal,  resumed  his 
labors  in  his  classes  at  both  the  Military 
Institute  and  the  Sunday  School. 

He  had  started  on  his  return  trip  in  ample 
time  to  reach  the  Institute  at  its  opening, 
September  1st,  which  he  had  promised  to  do; 
but  storms  had  prevented  this  and  he  was 
behind  time. 

A  lady  friend,  knowing  what  a  slave  he 
was  to  his  word,  asked  him  if  he  had  not 
been  miserable  at  the  delay.  The  answer 
was  characteristic  of  the  man.  He  had 
done  his  part,  Providence  had  intervened, 
and  he  had  not  worried  in  the  least.  JSTo 
man  ever  trusted  Providence  more  implicitly 
than  Jackson,  and  when  he  went  to  God  in 
prayer  he  knew  that  his  feet  would  be  guided 
in  the  right  way. 

Dr.  Dabney  tells  us  that  one  day,  when  a 
friend  said  that  he  could  not  understand 
how  one  could  "pray  without  ceasing,"  Jack- 


72  THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

son  replied  that  he  had,  for  some  time,  been 
in  the  habit  of  praying  all  through  the  day. 
"When  we  take  our  meals,"  said  he,  "there 
is  grace,  and  when  I  take  a  draught  of  water, 
I  always  pause  to  lift  up  my  heart  to  God 
in  thanks  for  the  '  water  of  life ' ;  and  when 
I  go  to  my  class-room  and  await  the  coming 
of  the  cadets,  that  is  my  time  to  pray  for 
them.  And  so  with  every  other  act  of  the 
day."  Thus  we  see  that  Jackson  was  truly 
a  "praying  man." 

His  pastor,  Eev.  Dr.  White,  once  said  that 
Major  Jackson  was  the  happiest  man  that 
he  had  ever  known.  This  happiness  came 
from  his  faith  in  the  saving  care  of  God. 

We  are  told  that  a  friend  once  said  to  him, 
"Suppose  you  should  lose  your  eyesight  and 
then,  too,  be  very  ill,  and  have  to  depend  on 
those  bound  to  you  by  no  tie,  would  not 
this  be  too  much  for  your  faith?  Do  you 
think  you  could  be  happy  then?"  He 
thought  a  moment  and  then  said,  "If  it 
were  the  will  of  God  to  place  me  on  a  sick 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.  THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.  73 

bed,  He  would  enable  me  to  lie  there  in 
peace  a  hundred  years." 

Such  was  the  faith  of  this  great  man! 
As  he  grew  older  his  spirit  became  more 
saintly  until,  when  called  upon  to  go  up 
higher  to  meet  his  Lord,  his  end  seemed 
more  like  a  passing  over  than  a  death. 

Major  Jackson  was  married  again,  on  July 
15th,  1857,  to  Mary  Anna  Morrison,  the 
daughter  of  Dr.  R.  H.  Morrison,  a  Presbyte- 
rian minister,  of  North  Carolina.  This  lady 
is  now  living,  and  has  quite  lately  written  a 
life  of  her  husband,  in  which  she  gives  beau- 
tiful glimpses  of  their  home  life  in  Lexington, 
and  also  extracts  from  his  letters  written  to 
her  during  the  Civil  War,  of  which  I  must 
so  soon  tell  you. 

Shortly  after  his  second  marriage,  Major 
Jackson  bought  a  house  and  a  few  acres  of 
land,  and  soon  all  of  his  spare  time  was 
spent  in  working  in  his  garden  and  fields. 

We  are  told  that  his  little  farm  of  rocky 
hill-land  was  soon  well  fenced  and  tilled,  and 

6 


74 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 


that  he  used  to  say  that  the  bread  grown 

there  by  the    labor  of   himself  and  slaves 

tasted  sweeter  than  that  which  was  bought. 

He  liked  to  have  his  friends  visit  him,  and 


Mrs.    T.  J.  Jackson  in  1899. 


nowhere  else  was  he  so  easy  and  happy  as 
with  his  guests  at  his  own  table. 

In  his  home,  military  sternness  left  his 
brow  and  the  law  of  love  took  its  place. 

This  story  is  told  of  him,  which  shows  how 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.  THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.         75 

gentle  and  tender  a  soldier  may  be.  "Once 
a  friend,  who  was  taking  his  little  four-year- 
old  girl  on  a  journey  without  her  mother, 
called  on  the  way  to  spend  the  night  with 
Major  Jackson.  At  bed-time,  when  Mrs. 
Jackson  wished  to  take  the  child  to  her 
room  for  the  night,  the  father  replied  that 
his  little  one  would  give  less  trouble  if  he 
kept  her  with  him.  In  the  still  watches  of 
the  night,  he  heard  a  soft  step,  and  felt  a 
hand  laid  upon  his  bed.  It  was  Major  Jack- 
son, who,  fearing  that  the  little  girl  would 
toss  off  the  covering,  had  come  to  see  that 
all  was  safe." 

This  good  and  peaceful  life  at  Lexington 
was  short.  The  black  cloud  of  war  was 
hovering  over  our  land  and  ere  long  the 
storm  burst  in  great  fury,  sweeping  Major 
Jackson  away  from  his  quiet  life,  his  prof- 
essorial duties,  and  his  loved  wife  and 
friends,  into  the  midst  of  carnage  and  death, 
and  to  deeds  that  made  his  fame  world-wide 
and  immortal. 


%  THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

Major  Jackson  had  but  one  more  duty  to 
perform  as  a  professor  and  officer  of  the  Vir- 
ginia Military  Institute.  He  had  been  left 
in  charge  of  the  corps  of  cadets  when  the 
superintendent  had  been  called  to  Richmond. 
Early  on  the  morning  of  Sunday,  April  21st, 
1861,  an  order  was  received  by  Major  Jack- 
son from  Governor  John  Letcher,  directing 
him  to  leave  with  his  command  for  Rich- 
mond at  12:30  P.  M.  that  day.  Major 
Jackson's  arrangements  were  promptly  made, 
and  he  sent  a  request  to  his  pastor,  good 
Dr.  White,  to  come  to  the  Institute  and  hold 
religious  services  for  the  young  men  prior  to 
their  departure.  These  services  were  held 
in  front  of  the  barracks.  The  battalion  was 
drawn  up  in  line  of  battle,  Major  Jackson 
at  the  head  and  venerable  Dr.  White  in  the 
front  and  center.  All,  with  bowed  heads, 
were  devoutly  listening  to  the  invocations 
speeding  heavenward.  The  clock  in  the 
Institute  tower  gave  the  signal  for  departure, 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.  77 

and,  without  a  moment's  pause,  Jackson  took 
up  the  line  of  march  and  left  his  beloved 
pastor  praying. 

The  key-note  of  his  great  success  as  a  sol- 
dier was  prompt  obedience  to  orders  and 
requiring  the  same  of  others. 


Me-mo'ri-al,   something   designed    to    keep    in 
remembrance  a  person,  place,  or  event. 

Fac'ul-ty,  the  body  of  instructors  in  a  school. 
Prof-es-so'ri-al,  pertaining  to  a  professor. 
Coat-ee'  (co-te'),  a  short  military  coat. 
Con'sci-en'-tious,  governed  by  conscience. 
Ob'sti-na-cy,  stubbornness. 
Tell  about — 

Major  Jackson's  appointment  as  professor  in 

the  Virginia  Military  Institute. 
His  reasons  for  resigning  his  position  in  the 

army  and  accepting  a  professorship. 
His  life  at  the  Institute. 
His  method  of  studying. 
His  Sunday  school  for  negroes. 
His  strict  observance  of  the  Sabbath. 
His  home  life. 


78  THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKbON. 


CHAPTER  Y. 
A  Confederate  Colonel. 

Before  going  on  with  the  life  of  our  hero, 
I  must  tell  you,  in  a  few  plain  and  truthful 
words,  the  causes  of  the  Civil  War  which  in 
1861  broke  out  between  the  States. 

You  remember  that,  after  the  Revolution- 
ary War,  the  thirteen  colonies  agreed  to  form 
a  Union,  and  adopted  a  set  of  laws  called  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States. 

From  the  very  first,  however,  the  States 
did  not  agree;  in  fact,  laws  which  suited 
one  section  did  not  suit  the  other,  so  that 
there  was  always  some  cause  for  a  quarrel. 

At  last,  the  question  of  slavery  seemed  to 
give  the  most  trouble.  You  have  been  told 
that  African  slaves  were  first  brought  to  Vir- 
ginia in  1619  by  the  Dutch,  and  that  after- 
wards English  and  Northern  traders  brought 
others,  until  all  of  the  colonies  held  slaves. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACK80N.         79 

The  cold  climate  of  the  North  did  not  suit 
the  negroes,  who  had  been  used  to  the  hot 
sun  of  Africa.  So,  by  degrees,  they  were 
sold  to  Southern  planters. 

Many  influential  men  North  and  South 
wished  to  see  the  slaves  freed.  But,  as  the 
slaves  increased  in  the  South,  Southern 
men  saw  that  a  rapid  abolition  of  slavery 
would  be  disastrous  to  both  whites  and 
blacks,  because  the  negroes  were  not  ready 
for  it.  As  slavery  decreased  in  the  North, 
many  Northern  people  did  not  realize  this. 
Besides,  the  North  did  not  wish  slave  labor 
to  compete  with  the  free  labor  of  the  North. 

The  North  insisted  that  slaves  should  not 
be  brought  into  the  new  States  as  they  came 
into  the  Union.  The  South  demanded  that 
a  slave-holder  should  be  free  to  carry  his 
slaves  from  one  State  into  another. 

Many  Southern  people  also  believed  that 
the  negroes  were  the  happiest  and  best  cared 
for  working  people  in  the  world,  and  that  the 
North  was  trespassing  upon  their  just  rights. 


80  THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

So  the  quarrel  went  on  until  October,  1859, 
when  an  event  happened  in  Virginia  which 
greatly  increased  the  hatred  of  both  parties. 
A  man  named  John  Brown  laid  a  plot  for 
freeing  the  negroes,  first  in  Virginia  and 
then  in  the  whole  South. 

For  two  years,  he  sent  men  through  the 
South  secretly  to  stir  up  the  negroes  and  incite 
them  to  kill  the  whites.  He  bought  long 
iron  pikes  for  the  negroes  to  fight  with,  as 
they  did  not  know  how  to  use  fire-arms. 

When  he  thought  that  all  was  ready,  he 
entered  Harper's  Ferry  by  night,  with  only 
eighteen  men,  and  seized  the  arsenal  there, 
sending  out  armed  men  into  the  country  to 
capture  the  principal  slave-owners  and  to 
call  upon  the  slaves  to  join  him.  This  was 
done  secretly  during  the  night,  and  the  next 
morning  every  white  man  who  left  his  home 
was  seized,  and  imprisoned  in  an  engine- 
house  near  the  arsenal.  Only  a  few  negroes 
came  in,  and  they  were  too  much  scared  to 
aid  in  the  deadly  and  dastardly  work. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEM   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 


81 


As  soon  as  the  news  of  this  raid  spread 
over  the  country,  angry  men  came  into  town 
from  all  sides,  and  before  night  John  Brown 
and  his  men  were  shut  up  in  the  engine- 
house. 


Harper's  Ferry,   Virginia, 

Soon  a  band  of  marines,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Colonel  R.  E.  Lee,  was  sent  out 
from  Washington  by  the  Government,  and 
as  John  Brown  would  not  surrender,  the 
soldiers  at  once  stormed  the  engine-house. 


82  THE  LIFE   OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

Ten  of  John  Brown's  men  were  killed  by  the 
soldiers,  and  all  the  rest,  including  Brown 
himself,  were  wounded.  Six  of  the  storm- 
ing party  were  killed  and  nine  wounded. 
John  Brown  and  seven  of  his  men  were 
brought  to  trial  at  Charles  Town,  Virginia, 
and  being  found  guilty  of  treason,  were 
hanged. 

The  cadets  of  the  Virginia  Military  Insti- 
tute were  ordered  to  Charles  Town  to  protect 
the  officers  of  the  law.  Major  Jackson  com- 
manded a  section  of  light  artillery  accom- 
panying the  battalion,  and  was  present  at 
the  death  of  Brown.  He  afterwards  gave 
his  friends  a  graphic  account  of  this  dread- 
ful scene. 

This  event  cast  great  gloom  over  the 
country.  Many  persons  at  the  North  thought 
that  John  Brown  had  died  a  martyr  to  the 
cause  of  slavery,  while  the  people  at  the 
South  saw  that  they  could  no  longer  enjoy 
in  peace  and  safety  the  rights  granted  to 
them  by  the  Constitution. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.  83 

Major  Jackson  was  truly  Southern  in  feel- 
ing. He  believed  in  the  "Rights  of  States" 
and  also  that  the  South  ought  to  take  her 
stand  and  resent  all  efforts  to  coerce  and 
crush  her.  He,  however,  dreaded  war  and 
thought  it  the  duty  of  Christians  throughout 
the  land  to  pray  for  peace. 

A  month  before  South  Carolina  went  out 
of  the  Union,  Major  Jackson  called  upon  his 
pastor,  Dr.  White,  and  said :  "It  is  painful  to 
know  how  carelessly  they  speak  of  war.  If  the 
Government  insists  upon  the  measures  now 
threatened,  there  must  be  war.  They  seem 
not  to  know  what  its  horrors  are.  Let  us 
have  meetings  to  pray  for  peace."  Dr.  White 
agreed  to  his  request,  and  the  burden  of 
Major  Jackson's  prayer  was  that  God  would 
preserve  the  land  from  war. 

After  the  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  in  No- 
vember, 1860,  to  be  President  of  the  United 
States,  the  Southern  States  saw  no  hope  of 
getting  their  rights  and  resolved  to  secede, 
or  withdraw  from  the  Union  of  the  States. 


84  TEE  LIFE   OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

South  Carolina  took  the  lead  and  seceded 
on  the  20th  of  December,  1860.  She  was 
quickly  followed  by  Mississippi,  Alabama, 
Florida,  Georgia,  Louisiana,  and  Texas. 

On  the  9th  of  January,  1861,  these  States 
united  and  at  Montgomery,  in  Alabama, 
formed  a  government  called  "The  Confeder- 
ate States  of  America,"  with  Jefferson  Davis 
as  President. 

Virginia  was  slow  to  withdraw  from  the 
Union  formed  by  the  States ;  but,  when  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  called  for  seventy-five  thousand 
soldiers  to  invade  the  Southern  States,  she 
delayed  no  longer.  On  April  17th,  1861,  she 
seceded  and  began  to  prepare  for  war. 

"In  one  week,"  says  Dabney,  "the  whole 
State  was  changed  into  a  camp."  The  sons 
of  Virginia  rushed  to  arms,  and  soon  the 
city  of  Richmond  was  filled  with  men  drill- 
ing and  preparing  to  fight. 

At  daybreak  on  Sunday  morning,  April 
21st,  1861,  an  order  came  to  Lexington  from 
the  Governor  of  the  State  (Governor  Letcher) 


a. 

ba 


fee 


a- 
9 


a 


(85) 


86  THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

to  march  the  cadets  that  day  to  Richmond. 
As  the  senior  officers  were  already  in  Rich- 
mond, Major  Jackson  at  once  prepared  to  go 
forward  with  his  corps. 

At  eleven  o'clock  A.  M.  he  went  to  his 
home  to  say  good-bye  to  his  wife.  They 
retired  to  their  own  room,  where  he  read  the 
5th  chapter  of  Second  Corinthians,  which 
begins  with  these  beautiful  words:  "For  we 
know,  if  our  earthly  house  of  this  tabernacle 
be  dissolved,  we  have  a  building  of  God,  an 
house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the 
heavens." 

He  then  knelt  and  prayed  for  themselves 
and  for  their  dear  country,  imploring  God 
that  it  might  be  His  holy  will  to  avert  war 
and  bloodshed.  He  then  said  good-bye  to 
his  wife  and  left  his  dear  home,  never  more 
to  return  to  it.  After  a  few  days,  his  wife 
went  to  live  at  the  home  of  a  friend — his 
house  was  closed. 

Major  Jackson  and  the  cadets  marched 
forward  to  Staunton,  whence  they  went  by 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.  87 

train  to  Kichmond,  and  at  once  went  into 
camp  on  the  Fair-Grounds. 

From  Kichmond,  Major  Jackson  wrote 
thus  to  his  wife:  "Colonel  Lee,  of  the  army, 
is  here  and  has  been  made  Major-General  of 
the  Virginia  troops.  I  regard  him  a  better 
officer  than  General  Scott.'7 

After  a  few  days,  on  April  21st,  Major  Jack- 
son was  made  colonel  of  the  Virginia  forces 
and  ordered  to  take  command  at  Harper's 
Ferry,  a  town  on  the  Potomac  river  where 
the  United  States  Government  had  had  a 
great  number  of  workshops  and  fire-arms. 
This  important  place  had  already  been  cap- 
tured by  Virginia  troops,  and  it  was  necessary 
to  hold  it  until  the  arms  and  machinery  could 
be  moved  away. 

Just  here  it  may  be  well  to  give  you  a 
word-picture  of  our  hero  as  he  began  a  career 
which  was  to  fill  the  world  with  his  fame. 

Jackson  was  tall  and  very  erect,  with  large 
hands  and  feet.  His  brow  was  fair  and 
broad;  his  eyes  were  blue  placid  and  clear 


Colonel  Thomas  J.  Jackson. 


(8S) 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.  THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.  89 

when  their  owner  was  calm,  but  dark  and 
flashing  when  he  was  aroused.  His  nose 
was  Koman,  his  cheeks  ruddy,  his  mouth 
firm,  and  his  chin  covered  with  a  brown 
beard.  His  step  was  long  and  rapid,  and  if 
he  was  not  a  graceful  rider,  he  was  a  fearless 


(L^p^^fiUnr  £%Zra*ur-   £^fev~--*-* 


one.  In  battle,  or  as  he  rode  along  his  col- 
umns, hat  in  hand,  bowing  right  and  left  to 
his  soldiers,  whose  shouts  arose  on  high,  no 
figure  could  be  nobler  than  his.  Few,  even 
of  his  intimate  friends,  were  conscious  of  his 
military  genius,  so  he  burst  upon  the  world 
as  a  meteor  darts  across  a  star-lit  sky. 


90  THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

On  his  way  to  Harper's  Ferry,  he  wrote 
thus  to  his  dear  wife : 

"Winchester,  April  29th,  1861. 

"I  expect  to  leave  here  about  two  P.  M.  to-day 
for  Harper's  Ferry.  I  am  thankful  to  say  that  an 
ever-kind  Providence,  who  causes  'all  things  to 
work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love  Him,' 
has  given  me  the  post  which  I  prefer  above  all 
others.  To  His  name  be  all  the  praise.  *  *  * 
You  must  not  expect  to  hear  from  me  very  often, 
as  I  shall  have  more  work  than  I  have  ever  had 
in  the  same  time  before ;  but  don't  be  troubled 
about  me,  as  an  ever-kind  Heavenly  Father  will 
give  me  all  needful  aid." 

"This  letter,"  says  a  friend,  "gives  a  true 
idea  of  his  character.  He  feels  within  him- 
self the  genius  and  power  which  make  him 
long  to  have  a  separate  command;  but  he 
also  feels  the  need  of  resting  upon  his  Heav- 
enly Father  for  aid  and  support." 

Colonel  Jackson  had  been  ordered  by  Major- 
General  Lee  to  organize  and  drill  the  men 
who  had  gathered  at  Harper's  Ferry  and  to 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACK80N.  91 

hold  the  place  as  long  as  possible  against 
the  foe. 

He  went  to  work  with  great  zeal  and,  aided 
by  Colonel  Maury  and  Major  Preston,  soon 
had  the  men  organized  into  companies  and 
regiments.  As  Colonel  Jackson  was  known 
to  have  been  a  brave  soldier  in  the  Mexican 
War,  he  was  readily  obeyed  by  the  soldiers 
in  his  little  army,  which  soon  numbered 
forty-five  hundred  men. 

But  on  the  2nd  of  May,  Virginia  joined  the 
Southern  Confederacy  and  handed  over  all  of 
her  soldiers  to  that  government,  which  bound 
itself  in  return  to  defend  Virginia  and  to  pay 
her  troops. 

General  Joseph  E.  Johnston  was  sent  on 
the  23rd  of  May  by  the  Confederate  Govern- 
ment to  take  command  at  Harper's  Ferry 
and  Colonel  Jackson  at  once  gave  up  his 
trust  to  General  Johnston. 

The  Virginia  regiments  at  that  place — the 
Second,  the  Fourth,  the  Fifth,  the  Twenty- 
seventh,  and  a  little  after,  the  Thirty-third, 


92  THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

with  Pendleton's  battery  of  light  field-guns — 
were  now  organized  into  a  brigade,  of  which 
—r~~~—~~,  Jackson  was  made  the  com- 
mander. This  was  the  bri- 
gade which  afterwards  became 
famous  as  the  "Stonewall 
Brigade,"  and  which,  we  shall 
see,  did   much  hard  fighting, 

Gen.  J.  E.  Johnston.  ,  .  ,        M        . , 

and  was  to  the  Southern  army 
what  the  "Tenth  Legion"  was  to  the  great 
Caesar. 

General  Johnston  soon  found  out  that  he 
could  not  hold  Harper's  Ferry  against  the  foe 
which  was  now  coming  up  under  General 
Patterson.  He,  therefore,  burnt  the  great  rail- 
road bridge  over  the  Potomac  river  at  Har- 
per's Ferry  and  moved  away  all  his  guns  and 
stores;  then  on  Sunday,  June  16th,  he  with- 
drew his  little  army  to  Bunker  Hill,  a  place 
about  twelve  miles  from  the  city  of  Winches- 
ter. There  he  offered  battle  to  General  Pat- 
terson, but  the  latter  refused  to  fight  and 
withdrew  to  the  north  bank  of  the  Potomac. 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.  93 

On  June  19th,  Colonel  Jackson  was  ordered 
to  march  northward  and  watch  the  foe,  who 
was  again  crossing  the  river.  He  was  also 
ordered  to  destroy  the  engines  and  cars  of  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  railroad  at  Martinsburg. 

This  he  did,  though  he  writes  of  it  in  the 
following  words:  "It  was  a  sad  work;  but 
I  had  my  orders,  and  my  duty  was  to  obey." 

Until  July  2nd,  Colonel  Jackson,  with  his 
brigade,  remained  a  little  north  of  Martins- 
burg, having  in  his  front  Colonel  J.  E.  B. 
Stuart  with  a  regiment  of  cavalry.  On  that 
day  General  Patterson  advanced  to  meet 
Jackson,  who  went  forward  with  only  one 
regiment,  the  Fifth  Virginia,  a  few  companies 
of  cavalry,  and  one  light  field  piece.  A 
sharp  skirmish  ensued.  At  last,  the  foe 
coming  up  in  large  numbers,  Jackson  fell 
back  to  the  main  body  of  his  troops  after 
having  taken  forty-five  prisoners,  and  killed 
and  wounded  a  large  number  of  the  enemy. 
Jackson's  loss  was  only  two  men  killed  and 
ten  wounded. 


94  THE  LIFE  OF  GEN   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON 

In  this  battle,  which  is  known  as  that  of 
Haines's  Farm,  Colonel  Jackson  was,  no 
doubt,  the  only  man  in  the  infantry  who 
had  ever  been  under  fire,  but  they  all 
behaved  with  the  greatest  coolness  and 
bravery. 

Jackson,  in  this  first  battle,  showed  such 
boldness,  and  at  the  same  time  such  care  for 
the  lives  of  his  men,  that  he  at  once  gained 
a  hold  upon  their  esteem. 

General  Patterson  now  held  Martinsburg; 
while  General  Johnston,  having  come  up 
with  the  whole  army,  offered  him  battle  each 
day.  But  Patterson  had  other  plans,  and 
soon  moved  away. 

While  General  Johnston  was  at  Winches- 
ter watching  his  movements,  Colonel  Jackson 
received  this  note: 

"  Richmond,  July  3rd,  '61. 

My  Dear  General  : 

I  have  the  pleasure  of  sending  you  a  commis- 
sion of  Brigadier-General  in  the  Provisional  Army; 


THE  LIFE   OF  GEN.    THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.  95 

and  to  feel  that  you  merit  it.     May  your  advance- 
ment increase  your  usefulness  to  the  State. 
Very  truly, 

R.  E.  LEE." 

General  Jackson,  for  so  we  must  now  call 
him,  was  much  pleased  at  this  promotion, 
and  wrote  to  his  wife  thus : 

"Through  the  blessing  of  God,  I  have  now  all 
that  I  ought  to  wish  in  the  line  of  promotion. 
May  His  blessing  rest  on  you  is  my  fervent  prayer." 


Ar'se-nal,   a  storehouse  for  arms  and  military 
stores. 

Ma-rines',  soldiers  doing  duty  on  a  ship. 

Mar'tyr,  one  who  is  put  to  death  for  the  truth. 

Sen'ior  (sen-yur),  one  older  in  age  or  office. 

Vol-un-teer',  one  who  enters  into  any  service  of 
his  own  free  will. 

Me'teor,   a  shining  body  passing  through  the 
air. 

Caesar  (se-zar),  a  great  Roman  general. 
Do  you  remember — 

What  happened  in  October  1859? 
When  Virginia  seceded  from  the  Union  ? 


96  THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

When  Major  Jackson  left  Lexington  with  the 

cadets  ? 
Of  what  place    Colonel    Jackson    first  took 

command  ? 
About  Jackson's  first  battle? 


Geveral  Rnhnrt  E.  Lee. 


(!)? 


98  THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
A  Brigadier-General. 

During  the  spring  of  1861,  the  States  of 
North  Carolina,  Tennessee,  and  Arkansas, 
also  left  the  Union  and  joined  the  new  Con- 
federacy, the  capital  of  which  was  now  Rich- 
mond, Virginia. 

The  great  object  of  the  North  was  to  cap- 
ture Richmond.  For  this  they  raised  four 
large  armies  to  invade  Virginia.  The  first 
was  to  go  by  way  of  Fortress  Monroe;  the 
second,  by  way  of  Manassas;  the  third  was 
to  march  up  the  Shenandoah  Valley ;  and  the 
fourth  was  to  come  from  the  northwest. 

Turn  to  the  map  of  Virginia  on  the  oppo- 
site page  and  find  the  places  which  I  have 
mentioned,  and  you  will  understand  the  plan 
at  once. 

Now,  the  Confederate  army  was  much 
smaller  than  the  Federal  army,  because  the 


(99) 


100        THE  LIFE   OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

Southern  States  were  thinly  settled,  while 
the  North  contained  very  many  large  cities 
and  had  the  world  from  which  to  draw 
supplies  of  men  as  well  as  munitions  of 
war. 

The  North  also  was  rich,  because  it  had 
the  treasury  of  the  United  States,  while  the 
South  was  poor  in  both  money  and  arms, 
and  had  the  outside  world  closed  against  her. 

So  the  Confederate  leaders  had  to  use 
great  skill  in  meeting  such  large  armies  with 
so  few  men.  __ 

You  remember  that  in  the 
last  chapter  I  told  how  Gen- 
eral Johnston,  at  Winchester, 
with  a  small  force  was  watch- 
ing General  Patterson.     Now, 

,  .  General  Beauregard. 

just  across  the  mountains, 
sixty  miles  southeast,  at  Manassas,  Beaure- 
gard (bo-re-gard),  another  famous  Southern 
general,  was  facing  a  large  Northern  army 
under  General  McDowell.  This  army  was 
thirty-live  thousand  strong,  while  the  Con- 


■7-' 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.  THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        101 

federates  had  only  twenty-eight  thousand 
men.  General  McDowell's  army  was  com- 
posed of  the  best  soldiers  in  the  Northern 
States,  and  they  had  splendid  fire-arms, 
artillery,  uniforms,  and  tents — in  fact,  all 
that  money  could  buy  to  make  them  do  good 
service  in  the  held. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Confederates  were 
poorly  clad  and  had  old  muskets  and  cannon ; 
many  of  the  cavalry  had  only  the  shot-guns 
which  they  had  used  for  hunting  in  their  boy- 
hood days. 

The  North  fully  expected  that  this  fine 
army  would  crush  the  Confederates  at  one 
blow,  and.  when  General  McDowell  was  a 
little  slow  in  marching  forward  to  battle, 
began  to  cry,  "On  to  Richmond." 

Large  crowds  of  idlers,  editors,  reporters, 
members  of   Congress,  government  officials 
and  even  ladies  went   from  Washington  to 
the  rear  of  the  Federal  army  in  order  to  wit- 
ness the  defeat  of  the  Confederates. 

General  Beauregard  now  sent  word  to  Gen- 


102        THE  LIFE   OF  GEN.  THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

eral  Johnston  to  leave  Patterson  and  come 
across  the  mountains  to  his  aid.  General 
Johnston  at  once  sent  Colonel '  Stuart  with 
his  cavalry  to  face  Patterson,  and  to  try  to 
keep  him  from  finding  out  that  Johnston 
had  left  Winchester  and  had  gone  to  the  help 
of  Beauregard. 

This  order  Stuart  obeyed  so  well  that 
Johnston  was  at  Manassas,  sixty  miles  away, 
before  Patterson  discovered  the  ruse. 

General  Johnston's  army  set  out  from  Win- 
chester on  the  forenoon  of  Thursday,  July 
18th.  The  First  Virginia  Brigade,  led  by 
General  Jackson,  headed  the  line  of  march. 
As  they  passed  through  the  streets  of  Win- 
chester, the  people  asked,  with  sad  faces,  if 
they  were  going  to  hand  them  over  to  the  foe. 
The  soldiers,  for  reply,  said  that  they  knew 
not  where,  or  for  what  purpose,  they  were 
marching  southeast. 

But  when  they  had  marched  about  three 
miles,  General  Johnston  called  a  halt,  and 
an  order  was  read  to  them  explaining  that 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        103 

they  were  going  to  Beauregard,  who  was  then 
on  the  eve  of  a  great  battle  with  McDowell. 
The  General  hoped  that  his  troops  would  act 
like  men  and  save  their  country. 

At  these  words,  the  men  rent  the  air  with 
their  shouts  and  went  forward  at  a  double- 
quick,  waded  the  Shenandoah  river,  which 
was  waist  deep,  crossed  the  Blue  Eidge 
mountains  at  Ashby's  Gap,  and  some  hours 
after  night  paused  to  rest  for  awhile  at  the 
village  of  Paris,  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the 
mountains. 

Dr.  Dabney  tells  us  that  here,  while  the 
men  slept,  Jackson  himself  kept  watch,  say- 
ing, "Let  the  poor  fellows  sleep;  I  will 
guard  the  camp  myself."  For  two  hours  he 
paced  up  and  down  under  the  trees,  or  sat 
on  the  fence.  At  last,  an  hour  before  day- 
break, he  gave  up  his  watch  to  a  member  of 
his  staff,  and  rolling  himself  upon  the  grass 
m  a  fence-corner,  was  soon  fast  asleep. 

At  peep  of  day,  the  brigade  was  up  and 
away,  and,  by  dusk  on  July  19th,  the  whole 


"Let  the  poor  fellows  sleep;  I  will  guard  the  camp  myself.' 


(104) 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        105 

command,  dusty,  hungry,  and  foot-sore, 
marched  into  an  old  pine-field  near  Manas- 
sas, where  they  spent  Saturday  in  resting 
for  the  coming  battle. 

The  Confederate  lines  stretched  for  eight 
miles  along  the  southern  bank  of  Bull  Run, 
which  could  be  forded  at  several  places.  At 
these  fords  General  Beauregard  had  placed 
large  bodies  of  men.  On  July  18th,  before 
Jackson  had  come  up,  General  McDowell  had 
tried  to  take  these  fords,  but  his  troops  had 
been  driven  back. 

He  then  made  a  plan  to  inarch  a  part  of 
his  forces  around  the  Confederates'  left  wing 
at  a  certain  stone  bridge,  and  to  get  in  their 
rear.  Being  thus  between  two  large  forces, 
the  Confederates  would  be  crushed  or  forced 
to  surrender. 

On  Sunday  morning,  July  21st,  General 
McDowell  sent  forward  a  portion  of  his  troops 
to  the  stone  bridge,  which  was  guarded  at 
that  time  by  the  gallant  Colonel  Evans,  with 
only  eleven   hundred  men.      After  he   had 


106        THE  LIFE  OF  OEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

fought  desperately  for  several  hours,  and  just 
as  he  was  outflanked  and  sorely  beset,  Gen- 
erals Bee  and  Bartow  came  up  to  his  aid, 
and  for  awhile  turned  the  tide  of  battle. 

At  last,  however,  the  Confederates  were 
slowly  forced  back  by  larger  numbers.  At 
this  moment,  General  Jackson  reached  the 
spot  with  his  brigade  of  two  thousand  six 
hundred  men.  These  he  quickly  placed  on 
the  crest  of  a  ridge  in  the  edge  of  a  pine 
thicket,  and  before  them  posted  seventeen 
cannon. 

Generals  Bee  and  Bartow  and  Colonel 
Evans  rallied  their  broken  lines  on  the  right ; 
while  on  the  left  were  a  few  regiments  of 
Virginia  and  Carolina  troops.  The  whole 
force  numbered  about  six  thousand  five  hun- 
dred men.  The  infantry  of  his  brigade  were 
ordered  by  Jackson  to  lie  down  behind  the 
artillery  to  escape  the  fire  of  the  enemy,  who 
were  now  coming  across  the  valley  and  up 
the  hill  with  twenty  thousand  men  and 
twenty-four   cannon.     Just   then,    Generals 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        16? 

Johnston  and  Beauregard  galloped  to  the 
front  and  cheered  the  men  on  in  every  part 
of  the  field. 

From  eleven  o'clock  A.  M.  until  three 
o'clock  P.  M.,  the  artillery  shook  the  earth 
with  its  dreadful  roar,  and  thousands  of 
musket-balls  whizzed  through  the  air,  black 
with  the  smoke  of  battle. 

While  the  artillery  fight  was  going  on, 
General  Jackson  rode  back  and  forth  between 
the  guns  and  his  regiments  lying  prone  upon 
the  ground  in  the  burning  sun,  and  greatly 
tried  by  bursting  shell  and  grape-shot.  His 
erect  form  and  blazing  eyes  brought  hope 
and  courage  to  them  in  this  their  first  bap- 
tism of  fire. 

At  last  General  Bee,  seeing  his  thin  ranks 
begin  to  waver,  said,  "General,  they  are 
beating  us  back."  "Then,"  said  Jackson, 
"we  will  give  them  the  bayonet."  Bee, 
catching  the  spirit  of  Jackson,  galloped  back 
to  his  men,  saying,  "There  is  Jackson,  stand- 
ing like  a  stone  wall!    Rally  behind  the  Vir- 


108        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

ginians!"  A  few  score  of  the  men  rallied 
around  the  gallant  Bee  and  charged  upon 
the  foe.  In  a  few  moments  the  brave  Bee 
fell  dead,  with  his  face  to  the  foe.     "From. 


There  is  Jackson,  standing  like  a  Stone  Wall !  " 


that  time,"  says  Draper,  an  historian  of  the 
North,  "the  name  which  Jackson  had  re- 
ceived in  a  baptism  of  lire,  displaced  that 
which  he  had  received  in  a  baptism  of  water, 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        109 

and  he  was  known  ever  after  as  'Stonewall 
Jackson.'" 

Both  of  Jackson's  flanks  were  now  in  dan- 
ger, and  he  saw  that  the  moment  had  come 
to  use  the  bayonet.  Wheeling  his  cannon  to 
right  and  left,  he  gave  the  signal  to  his  men 
to  rise,  and  cried  out  to  the  Second  regiment, 
"Keserve  your  fire  until  they  come  within 
fifty  yards;  and  then  fire  and  give  them  the 
bayonet;  and  when  you  charge,  yell  like 
furies." 

His  men  sprang  to  their  feet,  fired  one 
deadly  volley,  and  then  dashed  down  upon 
the  foe.  The  latter  could  not  stand  this 
dreadful  onset,  but  turned  and  fled.  A 
battery  which  had  been  captured  by  the 
foe  was  retaken,  and  the  centre  of  the  ene- 
my's line  of  battle  pierced  by  Jackson's  men. 

For  four  hours,  Jackson  had  kept  the 
enemy  at  bay,  but  now  help  was  near  at 
hand.  Just  as  the  Federals  had  rallied  and 
again  advanced  in  large  numbers,  General 
Kirby  Smith,  with  a  body  of  men  which  had 


110        TEE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

just  come  from  the  Valley,  and  Generals  Early 
and  Holmes,  with  reserve  troops,  hurried  up 
and  struck  the  right  wing  of  the  Federal 
army,  while  the  Confederates  in  the  centre 
turned  against  them  their  own  guns.  This 
onset  proved  too  much  for  the  Federals.  They 
again  fled;  and  this  time,  their  retreat  be- 
came a  general  rout.  The  men  in  terror 
cast  away  their  guns,  and  leaving  cannon 
and  flags,  rushed  for  the  nearest  fords  of  Bull 
Kun.  The  Confederate  cavalry  pursued  them, 
while  Kemper's  field  battery  ploughed  them 
through  and  through  with  shells.  The  road 
to  Washington  was  one  surging  mass  of  hu- 
man beings  struggling  to  get  away  from  the 
dreadful  field  of  death. 

General  Jackson's  troops  took  no  part  in 
pursuit  except  to  plant  a  battery  and  fire  at 
the  fleeing  foe,  many  of  whom  did  not  stop 
until  they  were  safe  across  the  Long  Bridge 
at  Washington. 

Though  the  Confederates  were  the  victors, 
they  had  lost  many  brave  men.      Generals 


112        THE  LIFE   OF  GEN    THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

Bee  and  Bartow  were  killed,  and  General 
Kirby  Smith  was  badly  wounded.  General 
Jackson  had  been  wounded  in  his  left  hand 
early  in  the  action,  but  had  taken  no  notice 
of  it.  Now  that  the  battle  was  over,  he  felt 
the  pain  acutely,  and  went  to  the  field-hos- 
pital, which  had  been  placed  by  the  side  of 
a  brook  beneath  the  shade  of  some  friendly 
willow-trees. 

When  he  came  up,  his  friend,  Dr.  McGuire, 
said,  ' '  General,  are  you  much  hurt  ?  "  "  No, ' ' 
replied  he;  "I  believe  it  is  a  trifle."  "How 
goes  the  day?"  asked  the  Doctor.  "Oh!" 
exclaimed  Jackson,  "We  have  beaten  them; 
we  have  gained  a  glorious  victory."  Dr.  Dab- 
ney  says  that  this  was  the  only  time  that 
Jackson  was  ever  heard  to  express  joy  at 
having  gained  the  day. 

When  the  surgeons  came  around  him  to 
dress  his  wounded  hand  he  said,  "No,  I  can 
wait ;  my  wound  is  but  a  trifle ;  attend  first 
to  those  poor  fellows."  He  then  sat  down 
upon  the  grass  and  waited  until  the  wounds 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        113 

of  the  badly  hurt  had  been  dressed.  At  first 
it  was  thought  that  his  middle  finger  would 
have  to  be  cut  off,  but  Dr.  McGuire  hav- 
ing dressed  it  very  skilfully,  it  was  saved, 
and  his  hand  at  length  healed. 

It  is  stated  by  several  friends  that  General 
Jackson  said,  while  having  his  hand  dressed, 
that,  with  ten  thousand  fresh  troops,  he  be- 
lieved that  he  could  go  into  Washington  city. 
However,  as  he  was  not  the  commanding 
general,  he  could  not  make  the  attempt,  but 
could  only  do  as  he  was  ordered. 

I  must  not  fail  to  give  you  a  part  of  a  let- 
ter which  he  wrote  to  his  wife  the  day  after 
the  battle,  July  22nd: 

"  Yesterday  we  fought  a  great  battle  and  gained 
a  great  victory,  for  which  all  the  glory  is  due  to 
God  alone.  Though  under  fire  for  several  hours, 
I  received  only  one  wound,  the  breaking  of  the 
longest  finger  of  the  left  hand,  but  the  doctor  says 
that  it  can  be  saved.  My  horse  was  wounded,  but 
not  killed.  My  coat  got  an  ugly  wound  near  the 
hip.     *     *     *     While  great  credit  is  due  to  other 


1U        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

parts  of  our  gallant  army,  God  made  my  brigade 
more  instrumental  than  any  other  in  repulsing  the 
main  attack. 

This  is  for  you  alone.  Say  nothing  about  it. 
Let  another  speak  praise,  not  myself." 

But  the  praise  of  the  Stonewall  Brigade 
was  not  sung  by  Jackson  alone.  Both  friend 
and  foe  unite  in  saying  that  if  Jackson  had 
not  held  the  hill,  which  was  the  key  to  the 
Confederate  position,  until  help  came,  the 
battle  of  Manassas  (Bull  Kun)  would  have 
been  a  defeat,  and  not  a  victory  for  the  South. 

Jackson's  eagle  eye  saw  the  place  to  make 
a  stand,  and  he  held  it  for  four  hours  against 
all  odds. 

At  one  time,  while  his  men  were  lying 
upon  the  ground,  they  were  so  harassed  by 
the  bursting  of  shells  that  some  of  the  offi- 
cers begged  to  be  permitted  to  advance. 
"No,"  said  Jackson,  "wait  for  the  signal; 
this  place  must  be  held." 

We  do  not  seek  to  take  glory  from  other 
heroes  of  this   wonderful   battle,    many   of 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        115 

whom,  as  Bee  and  Bartow,  bravely  gave  up 
their  lives  in  the  storm  of  battle;  or,  as 
Smith  and  Early,  made  forced  marches  in 
order  to  rescue  those  so  sorely  pressed;  but 
we  do  say  that,  in  one  sense,  Jackson  was 
the  hero  of  the  first  battle  of  Manassas. 

In  this  battle  the  Confederates  captured 
twenty-eight  cannon  with  five  thousand 
muskets  and  vast  stores  of  articles  useful 
to  their  needy  army. 

The  Confederates  lost  three  hundred  and 
sixty-nine  killed  on  the  field,  and  fourteen 
hundred  and  eighty-three  wounded. 

The  road  to  Washington  was  now  open, 
and  there  is  no  doubt  that  General  Jackson 
thought  it  best  to  press  on  while  the  enemy 
was  routed  and  take  possession  of  the  city. 

But  the  commanding  generals  were  afraid 
to  risk  the  attempt  with  an  army  which  had 
been  drilled  only  a  few  weeks  and  which  had 
so  little  discipline ;  and,  thus,  the  moment  to 
strike  passed  by. 

In  a  few  days  the  North  had  chosen  a 


116        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

new  commander,  General  McClellan,  who  set 
himself  to  raise  new  armies  to  defend  Wash- 
ington and  to  scourge  the  South. 

Soon  after  the  battle,  General  Jackson 
moved  his  men  to  a  piece  of  woodland  near 
by,  where  he  employed  the  time  in  drilling 
his  troops.  After  a  time  the  Confederate 
lines  were  pushed  forward  to  within  sight  of 
Washington  city,  but  no  battle  took  place, 
as  General  McClellan  was  too  wise  to  risk 
another  engagement  so  soon  after  Manassas. 

In  October,  General  Jackson  was  promoted 
to  the  rank  of  Major-General,  and  was  sent 
to  the  Shenandoah  Valley  to  take  command 
of  the  army  which  had  been  lighting  in  West 
Yirginia. 

The  Stonewall  Brigade  was  left  behind 
with  General  Johnston.  This  was  a  great 
trial,  both  to  General  Jackson  and  to  the 
brigade. 

When  the  time  came  for  him  to  leave  for 
the  new  field  of  war,  he  ordered  the  brigade 
to  march  out  under  arms,  and  then  rode  to 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        117 

their  front  with  his  staff.  Dr.  Dabney  says 
that  no  cheer  arose,  but  every  face  was  sad. 

After  speaking  a  few  words  of  praise  and 
love,  he  threw  his  bridle  reins  on  the  neck 
of  his  horse,  and  stretching  his  arms  towards 
them  said :  "  In  the  Army  of  the  Shenandoah, 
you  were  the  First  Brigade.  In  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  you  were  the  First  Brigade.  In 
the  Second  Corps  of  the  army,  you  are  the 
First  Brigade.  You  are  the  First  Brigade  in 
the  affections  of  your  General;  and  I  hope, 
by  your  future  deeds  and  bearing,  you  will 
be  handed  down  to  posterity  as  the  First 
Brigade  in  this,  our  second  War  of  Independ- 
ence.    Farewell." 

He  then  waved  his  hand,  and  left  the 
grounds  at  a  gallop,  followed  by  the  cheers 
of  his  brave  soldiers.  This  separation,  how- 
ever, was  for  but  a  short  time.  In  Novem- 
ber following,  the  First  Brigade  was  ordered 
to  join  Jackson  at  Winchester,  and  it  re- 
mained with  him  until  the  fatal  hour  at 
Chancellorsville,  when  it  lost  him  forever. 


118        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JAOK80N. 

Ruse  (rooz),  a  trick. 

Staff,  certain  officers  attached  to  an  army. 
Rout,  fleeing  in  a  confused  and  disorderly  man- 
ner. 

In'stru-men'tal,  conducive  to  some  end. 
Discipline,  order,  rule. 

Tell  about — 

General  Johnston's  army  at  Winchester. 
Colonel   Jackson's   first  battle   in  the   Civil 

War. 
The  march  to  Manassas. 
The  first  battle  of  Manassas. 
Jackson's  farewell  to  the  Stonewall  Brigade. 


Jackson's  military  cap,  sword,  and  buttons. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 


119 


CHAPTER  VII. 


A  Major-General. 

When  the  year  1862  opened,  General  Jack- 
son was  at  Winchester  with  ten  thousand 
men,  Generals  Loring  and  Henry  Jackson 
having  come  from  Western  Virginia  to  join 
his  command. 

At    the    head    of  Jackson's  cavalry    was 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Ashby,  a  gallant,  brave, 
and   watchful    officer.     At 
the    sound    of  his    well- 
known  shout  and  the  cry 
of    "Ashby,"     from    his 
men,  the  Federal  soldiers 
would  turn  and  flee  as  if 
from  a  host.     Ever  guard- 
ing  the    outposts    of    the 
army,    he    was    Jackson's 
"eyes  and  ears." 
There  were  now  three  great  armies  threat- 


Lieut.-Col.  Ashby. 


120        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

ening  Jackson,  and  he  well  knew  that  they 
would  crush  him  if  he  did  not  meet  each  one 
singly  before  they  could  unite. 

Jackson's  little  army  was  the  guard  to 
Johnston's  flank.  The  latter  general,  with 
forty  thousand  men,  was  still  at  Manassas 
facing  McClellan,  who  was  at  the  head  of  an 
army  of  fifty  thousand  men,  and  preparing, 
as  soon  as  spring  opened,  to  "walk  over 
Johnston." 

Jackson  knew  that  if  his  army  was  de- 
feated, Johnston  would  have  to  retreat,  and 
perhaps  the  whole  State  would  be  given  up 
to  the  foe.  The  armies  were  now  in  winter 
quarters,  and  there  Avas  not  much  danger  of 
a  move  before  spring. 

In  the  meantime,  Jackson  resolved  to 
march  against  several  large  forces  of  Federals 
which  were  threatening  him  from  the  towns 
of  Romney  and  Bath,  forty  miles  distant, 
in  Northwestern  Virginia. 

It  was   the   last  of  December,    however, 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.    THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.         121 

before  he  could  collect  the  men  and  supplies 
necessary  for  the  expedition. 

At  last,  on  the  first  day  of  January,  1862, 
all  was  ready.  The  little  army  of  about  nine 
thousand  men  set  out  without  knowing 
whither  Jackson  was  leading,  for  he  had  not 
told  even  his  officers  his  great  plans. 

In  spite  of  the  winter  season,  the  day  was 
bright  and  the  air  soft  and  balmy.  So  warm 
was  the  weather  that  the  men  left  their  over- 
coats and  blankets  to  be  brought  on  in  the 
wagons.  On  the  next  day,  a  biting  wind 
began  to  blow,  which  was  followed  by  rain 
and  snow. 

The  men  marched  all  day,  and  at  night 
the  wagons,  which  had  not  been  able  to  keep 
up  with  the  troops,  were  still  far  behind. 
The  troops  rested  that  night  without  rations 
or  blankets,  having  only  camp-fires  to  keep 
off  the  cold. 

On  the  third  day,  the  men  were  so  over- 
come by  cold  and  hunger  that  they  found  it 
difficult    to    go    forward.       Jackson,    riding 


122        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

grimly  along  the  way,  found  his  old  brigade 
halted,  and  asked  General  Garnett  the  reason 
of  the  delay. 

"I  have  halted,"  said  General  Garnett, 
"to  let  the  men  cook  rations." 

"There  is  not  time  for  it,"  replied  General 
Jackson  curtly. 

"But  it  is  impossible  for  the  men  to  go 
farther  without  them,"  said  Garnett. 

"I  never  found  anything  impossible  with 
that  brigade,"  said  Jackson  as  he  rode  on. 
He  was  restive  and  eager  to  press  forward; 
his  plan  to  surprise  the  enemy  did  not  admit 
of  delay. 

As  the  army  neared  the  town  of  Bath,  a 
force  of  Federals  suddenly  attacked  it  from 
behind  trees  and  fences,  but  it  was  soon 
driven  off  with  the  loss  of  twenty  prisoners. 

That  night  the  Southern  troops  went  into 
camp  just  outside  the  town,  in  the  midst  of 
a  heavy  snow  storm.  The  men  were  with- 
out food  or  blankets,  and  the  wonder  is  how 
they  lived  through  the  night. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.  THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        123 

Jackson,  however,  did  not  change  his  plans, 
though  there  was  great  complaint  among  the 
men,  many  of  whom  straggled  back  to  Win- 
chester. 

The  next  morning,  after  a  hearty  break- 
fast, the  order  was  given  to  advance  upon 
Bath.  The  artillery  opened  fire  and  the 
infantry  charged  the  breastworks,  but  the 
Federals  hastily  gave  up  the  town,  and  fled 
towards  the  Potomac  river,  which  they  waded 
that  night. 

The  Southern  troops  on  entering  the  town 
found  quantities  of  stores  which  the  Federals 
had  left  behind;  among  them  were  fine 
clothes,  china,  and  even  dinners,  cooked  and 
still  smoking,  ready  to  be  eaten  by  the  hun- 
gry Confederates. 

From  Bath,  Jackson's  men  passed,  with 
great  difficulty  and  suffering,  to  a  place  called 
Hancock,  about  three  miles  distant  from 
Bath,  on  the  north  side  of  the  Potomac. 

Jackson  placed  his  cannon  on  the  south 
bank  and  opened  a  hot  fire  on  the  town,  but 


124        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

the  commander  refused  to  surrender.  As  a 
large  force  of  men  came  up  to  reinforce  the 
Federals,  Jackson  concluded  to  pass  on  to 
Romney. 

In  the  meantime,  the  railroad  bridge  over 
Capon  river  had  been  destroyed  and  the 
telegraph  wires  cut  by  General  Loring,  so 
that  the  commander  at  Romney  could  not 
send  to  General  Banks  for  help. 

The  weather  had  now  become  terrible. 
Rain,  snow,  sleet,  and  hail  beat  down  upon 
men  still  without  tents,  overcoats,  and  blank- 
ets; for  it  was  impossible  for  the  wagons  to 
come  up.  The  mountain  roads  were  covered 
with  ice  and  sleet  so  that  horses  and  men 
could  not  keep  their  footing.  Many  fell  flat, 
badly  hurt,  while  wagon  after  wagon  slid 
down  the  steep  banks,  and  was  overturned 
and  broken. 

Jackson  was  everywhere  along  the  line 
cheering  the  troops  and  even  helping  them 
along.  We  are  told  by  Cooke,  our  great 
Virginia  writer,  that,  as  Jackson  was  pass- 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        125 

ing  a  point  in  the  road  where  a  piece  of 
artillery  had  stalled,  while  a  crowd  of  men 
were  looking  on  without  helping,  he  stopped, 
dismounted,  and,  without  uttering  a  word, 
put  his  shoulder  to  the  wheel.  The  men, 
shamed,  came  forward  to  take  their  places, 
the  horses  were  whipped  up,  and  the  piece 
moved  on. 

After  great  hardships,  the  little  army  at 
last  reached  Komney,  on  the  14th  of  January, 
to  find  that  the  Federals  had  retreated,  leav- 
ing behind  them  large  military  stores,  which 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Confederates. 

Even  then,  the  name  of  Jackson  was  a 
terror  to  the  foe.  With  a  force  much  larger 
than  Jackson's,  and  when  he  was  more  than 
a  day's  march  distant,  the  Federals  had  fled 
and  left  the  greater  part  of  their  baggage. 

In  sixteen  days,  he  had  driven  the  enemy 
out  of  his  district,  had  rendered  the  railroad 
useless  to  the  Federals  for  more  than  a  hun- 
dred miles,  and  had  captured  arms  enough 
to  equip  an  army  as  large  as  his  own.     This 


,126        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

he  had  done  with  the  loss  of  four  men  killed 
and  twenty-eight  wounded. 

Leaving  General  Loring  at  Romney  with 
a  portion  of  the  army,  Jackson  hastened 
back  to  Winchester  to  watch  the  movements 
of  General  Banks,  who  was  stationed,  with  a 
large  army,  near  Harper's  Ferry. 

Upon  his  return,  he  found  the  whole  coun- 
try in  an  uproar  over  the  expedition  to  Rom- 
ney through  the  sleet  and  snow.  Though 
no  one  could  say  that  Jackson  was  not  full  of 
courage  and  devotion  to  the  South,  many 
said  that  he  was  cruel  and  not  fit  to  be  in 
command  of  an  army.  Some  said  that  he 
was  a  madman;  others,  that  he  was  without 
common  sense.  Another  charge  against  him 
was  that  he  was  partial  to  the  Stonewall 
Brigade,  as  he  had  brought  it  back  with  him 
to  the  comforts  of  a  town,  while  he  had  left 
Loring' s  command  in  the  mountains.  The 
soldiers  of  the  brigade  were  called  "  Jack- 
son's Pet  Lambs,"  and  other  like  names. 

Now,  the  truth   was,  that  Loring's  men 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        12? 

were  far  more  comfortable  than  those  of  the 
Stonewall  Brigade ;  the  former  being  ordered 
into  huts,  while  the  latter  were  in  tents, 
three  miles  from  Winchester. 

Another  charge  against  him  was  that  he 
would  tell  his  plans  to  no  one.  "It  was  his 
maxim,"  says  Dabney,  "that  in  war, mystery 
was  the  key  to  success."  He  argued  that 
no  man  could  tell  what  bit  of  news  might 
not  be  of  use  to  the  foe,  and  therefore,  that 
it  was  the  part  of  wisdom  to  conceal  every- 
thing. 

This  secrecy  irritated  his  officers,  and  it 
must  be  said  that  some  of  them  so  far  for- 
got their  duty  as  soldiers  as  to  treat  Gen- 
eral Jackson  with  disrespect. 

Though  all  of  these  charges  were  known 
to  Jackson,  he  took  no  notice  of  them,  but 
was  proceeding  to  connect  Romney  with 
Winchester  by  telegraph  wires  when,  on  Jan- 
uary 31st,  he  received  this  order  from  Rich- 
mond: "Order  Loring  back  to  Winchester 
at  once." 


.128        THE  LIFE   OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

The  cause  of  this  order  was  that  some  of 
the  officers  at  Romney  had  sent  a  petition  to 
Richmond  asking  to  be  sent  back  to  Win- 
chester, as  the  position  at  Romney  was,  in 
•their  opinion,  too  much  exposed. 

General  Jackson  recalled  the  troops  from 
Romney,  but  he  was  so  angry  at  the  way  in 
which  he  had  been  treated  by  the  govern- 
merit,  that  he  at  once  resigned  his  command. 

This  caused  great  excitement  in  the  army 
and  in  the  State  at  large.  The  people  were 
by  no  means  willing  to  give  up  an  officer 
who  had  shown  so  much  courage  and  skill, 
and  they  begged  him  to  withdraw  his  resig- 
nation. This  he  refused  to  do.  He  said 
that  the  government  had  shown,  by  the  order, 
that  it  did  not  trust  him,  and  that,  if  he  was 
to  be  meddled  with  in  that  way,  he  could  do 
no  good.  At  last,  however,  a  sort  of  an 
apology  being  made  by  the  government,  he 
quietly  took  up  his  duties  again. 

In  a  few  days  after  General  Loring  left 
Romney,  the  Federals  again  took  possession 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        129 

of  that  town  and  the  country  around.  So 
all  the  efforts  of  Jackson  and  the  trials  of 
his  soldiers  were  of  no  avail.  This  was  a 
great  blow  to  General  Jackson,  for  Win- 
chester was  again  exposed  to  the  advance  of 
the  foe  from  four  directions. 

The  plan  for  the  invasion  of  Virginia  in 
1862  was  the  same  as  in  1861.  General 
Fremont  was  marching  from  the  Northwest; 
Banks,  from  Harper's  Ferry;  McDowell,  from 
Fredericksburg ;  McClellan  faced  Johnston  at 
Manassas,  and  another  large  army  was  at 
Fortress  Monroe,  ready  to  march  up  the 
Peninsula. 

The  Northern  army  was  much  larger  than 
the  year  before,  but  the  Southern  army  was 
smaller,  as  the  time  of  many  of  the  men  had 
expired  and  others  had  gone  home  on 
furlough. 

Several  brigades  were  now  taken  from 
General  Jackson  to  strengthen  other  points, 
and  he  found  himself  left,  with  only  six 
thousand   men,  to  guard  the  left  of  John- 


130        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

ston's  army  and  to  protect  the  great  Shenan- 
doah Valley. 

On  the  26th  of  February,  General  Banks, 
with  thirty-five  thousand  men,  and  Gen- 
eral Kelly,  with  eleven  thousand,  advanced 
against  Jackson,  who  was  still  at  Win- 
chester, hoping  to  hold  that  place,  until 
help  could  come  from  General  Johnston. 
But  finding  out  through  Colonel  Ashby  that 
he  was  almost  surrounded  by  the  enemy,  he 
left  Winchester  and  fell  back  slowly  to  Mt. 
Jackson,  a  village  on  the  great  turnpike, 
forty  miles  from  Winchester.  Here,  he  had 
sent  all  of  his  stores  and  sick  soldiers  some 
weeks  before;  so  that,  when  the  Federals 
entered  Winchester,  they  found  not  a 
prisoner  or  a  musket  to  "enrich  their 
conquest." 

It  was  a  great  trial  to  Jackson  to  leave 
his  kind  friends  in  Winchester,  but  he 
promised  them  "to  wait  for  a  better  time 
and  come  again."  We  shall  see  how  well 
he  kept  his  promise. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.  THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        131 

On  March  19th,  General  Johnston  wrote 
to  General  Jackson  at  Mt.  Jackson,  asking 
him  to  move  closer  to  the  enemy  and  to  pre- 
vent him,  if  possible,  from  sending  troops 
across  to  McClellan.  Word  was  brought  at 
the  same  time,  that  fifteen  thousand  men 
were  then  leaving  the  army  of  Banks  to  aid 
in  turning  the  left  wing  of  Johnston's  forces, 
as  he  fell  back  to  lines  of  defense  nearer 

4 

Richmond. 

So  Jackson  gave  orders  to  his  little  army, 
which  now  numbered  only  twenty-seven 
hundred  men,  to  march  back  down  the  Val- 
ley. That  night  the  infantry  slept  at  Stras- 
burg,  while  Ashby's  men  drove  in  the  out- 
posts of  the  Federals  at  Winchester. 

General  Banks,  thinking  that  Jackson 
would  trouble  him  no  more,  had  left  for 
Washington,  and  General  Shields  was  in 
command  of  the  army. 

General  Jackson,  on  the  morning  of  March 
23rd,  pushed  forward  his  whole  force,  and, 
when  about  five  miles  from  Winchester,  at  a 


132        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

place  called  Kernstown,  he  found  Ashby 
fighting  furiously  with  the  advance  of  the 
foe.  Taking  a  good  position,  he  at  once 
gave  battle,  though  he  saw  that  he  was 
greatly  outnumbered.  The  battle  raged  from 
about  noon  until  night.  Regiment  after 
regiment  was  hurled  against  Jackson's  thin 
ranks,  but  they  fought  stubbornly  and  would 
have  gained  the  day,  had  not  the  ammuni- 
tion of  the  Stonewall  Brigade  given  out. 
Hearing  his  fire  dying  away  for  want  of 
ammunition,  General  Garnett  gave  orders 
for  his  men  to  retreat.  When  Jackson  saw 
the  lines  of  his  old  brigade  give  back,  he 
galloped  to  the  spot,  and,  ordering  Garnett 
to  hold  his  ground,  pushed  forward  to  rally 
the  men.  Seeing  a  drummer  boy  retreating 
like  the  rest,  he  seized  him  by  the  shoulder, 
dragged  him  in  full  view  of  the  soldiers,  and 
said  in  his  sternest  tones,  "Beat  the  rally! " 
The  drummer  beat  the  rally,  and  in  the  midst 
of  a  storm  of  balls  Jackson  saw  the  lines 
reform. 


"Beat  the  Rally!" 


H33) 


134        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

But  it  was  too  late.  The  enemy  now 
pressed  forward  in  such  numbers  that  there 
was  nothing  left  to  do  but  to  retreat.  This 
they  did  in  good  order,  but  the  Federals 
held  the  field  of  battle  where  so  many  dead 
and  wounded  men  were  lying. 

In  this  battle -of  Kernstown  twenty-seven 
hundred  Confederates,  with  eleven  guns,  at- 
tacked eleven  thousand  Federals  and  almost 
gained  the  victory.  It  is  said  that  General 
Shields  had  just  given  orders  for  his  men  to 
retreat  when  the  Stonewall  Brigade  fell  back. 

As  General  Shields  followed  Jackson  up 
the  Valley  after  the  battle,  he  stopped  at  a 
noted  country  house  for  the  night.  General 
Jackson  had  also  rested  there  upon  his  re- 
treat, and  from  his  adjutant  the  lady  of  the 
house  had  learned  the  correct  number  of 
Jackson's  men. 

General  Shields,  at  breakfast,  entered  into 
a  conversation  with  his  hostess,  and  in  a 
polite  way  boasted  of  his  great  victory. 
"Ah!    General,"    said    the   lady,    "we   can 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        135 


afford  such  defeats  as  that,  when  twenty- 
seven  hundred  men  hold  back  eleven  thou- 
sand for  hours  and  then  retreat  at  leisure! 
Such  defeats  are  victories."  General  Shields 
was  surprised  to  learn  the  small  number  of 
Jackson's  forces,  and  begged  the  lady  to  tell 
him  her  informant.  "Certainly,"  said  the 
lady,  "General  Jackson's  adjutant,  Major 
Paxton.  I  have  also  information  that  large 
reinforcements  are  com- 
ing to  Jackson  and  that 
he  will  again  be  ready 
to  meet  you. "  "I  have 
no  doubt  of  that,  my 
dear  Madam,"  smil- 
ingly returned  the 
General. 

That  night  Jackson's 
little  army  rested  near 
Newtown,  while  Ashby  kept  watch  not  far 
from  the  field  of  battle.  "Jackson,"  says 
Cooke,  "got  an  armful  of  corn  for  his  horse; 
and,  wrapping  his  blanket  about  him,  lay 


Major  E.  F.  Paxton. 


136        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

down  by  a  lire  in  a  fence  coiner  and  went 
to  sleep."  Though  defeated  for  the  first  and 
last  time,  he  had  won  the  object  of  the  bat- 
tle. The  fifteen  thousand  men  who  had 
started  across  the  mountains  to  McClellan 
were  recalled  to  the  Valley,  and  Johnston 
was  able  to  move  safely  behind  the  Rappa- 
hannock river,  his  new  line  of  defense. 

At  four  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the 
24th,  Jackson  began  to  retreat  slowly  and 
in  good  order.  The  enemy  pursued  for 
awhile,  but  at  last  fell  back  to  Winchester. 

Jackson's  army  was  far  from  cast  down 
by  the  defeat  at  Kernstown.  The  soldiers 
felt  that  they  had  made  a  splendid  fight 
against  four  times  their  number.  And  now, 
too,  for  the  first  time,  it  began  to  dawn  upon 
them  that  their  general  was  a  great  leader. 
As  Jackson  passed  along  the  columns,  the 
men  would  cheer  themselves  hoarse. 

Cooke  tells  us  that  one  man  was  heard  to 
ask,  as  he  struggled  along,  ' '  Why  is  Old  Jack 
a  better  general  than  Moses?"      "Because 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        137 

it  took  Moses  forty  years  to  lead  the  Israel- 
ites through  the  wilderness,  and  Old  Jack 
would  have  double-quicked  them  through  it 
in  three  days! " 

It  is  said  by  another  writer,  that  the  men 
would  laugh  and  say  that  the  only  rest  they 
had  was  when  they  were  retreating  before 
the  enemy.  He  always  led  them  by  forced 
marches  when  going  to  attack  the  foe,  but 
never  fast  enough  on  a  retreat  to  lose  the 
chances  of  a  fight. 

The  weather  was  now  mild  and  balmy, 
and  the  men  suffered  few  hardships  during 
their  slow  retreat.  At  last  they  reached  the 
old  camp  at  Mt.  Jackson,  where  Jackson 
gathered  up  his  wounded  and  sent  them  up 
the  Valley. 

On  the  1st  of  April,  he  crossed  the  north 
fork  of  the  Shenandoah,  and  took  position  on 
Rude's  Hill,  five  miles  below  New  Market. 

General  Banks  had  again  come  up  the 
Valley,  and  was  pressing  upon  the  rear  of 
Jackson's  army. 

10 


138        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

It  was  left  for  Colonel  Ashby  to  burn  the 
bridge  near  Mt.  Jackson,  after  the  Southern 
army  had  passed  over.  While  Ashby  and 
his  men  were  engaged  in  this  work,  the 
Federal  cavalry  dashed  up  and  a  skirmish 
ensued,  in  which  Ashby' s  beautiful  snow- 
white  charger  was  mortally  wounded. 

General  Jackson  remained  at  Rude's  Hill 
until  April  17th,  when,  the  waters  having 
subsided  so  that  the  Federal  army  could 
cross  the  river,  he  again  took  up  his  line  of 
march  through  New  Market  to  Harrisonburg. 
At  the  last  named  place  he  turned  east,  and, 
passing  the  south  end  of  Massanutton  moun- 
tain, crossed  the  south  branch  of  the  Shenan- 
doah river  and  posted  his  troops  in  the  gorge 
of  the  Blue  Eidge  called  Swift  Run  Gap. 

The  way  to  Staunton  was  now  open  to 
General  Banks,  but  he  was  too  timid  to  go 
forward.  Jackson  in  his  rear  was  worse  than 
Jackson  in  front  of  him.  So,  for  two  weeks, 
Jackson  held  the  Gap  while  Banks  occupied 


TEE  LIFE  OF  OEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        139 

Harrisonburg,  and  laid  waste  the  country 
around. 

Jackson  had  now  about  eight  thousand 
men  and  thirty  guns.  His  men  had  re- 
turned from  hospitals  and  furloughs  and  also 
a  number  of  new  recruits  had  poured  in  to 
help  in  this  time  of  danger.  The  General 
employed  these  weeks  of  rest  in  organizing 
and  drilling  his  men  and  in  mending  up  his 
old  artillery.  In  the  meantime  also,  he  made 
bold  plans,  and  with  the  help  of  General  E. 
E.  Lee,  who  had  now  been  made  commander 
of  the  "Army  of  Northern  Virginia,"  pro- 
ceeded to  carry  them  out. 

Now,  in  order  to  understand  the  great 
genius  of  our  hero,  and  the  bravery  and  en- 
durance of  his  men,  you  must  study  the  map 
on  the  next  page. 

You  will  see  that  the  Valley  of  the  Shen- 
andoah is  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  Blue 
Kidge  mountains,  and  on  the  west  by  the 
Alleghany.  Winchester  is  situated  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  Valley,  while  Staunton 


(140) 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        141 

is  about  ninety  miles  to  the  south.  These 
two  places  are  connected  by  a  line  turnpike. 

Now,  near  the  center  of  the  Valley,  rises 
a  beautiful  mountain  which  the  Indians 
called  Massanutton,  and  which  still  retains 
that  name.  This  mountain  begins  near 
Strasburg  and  extends  about  fifty  miles 
towards  Staunton,  ending  abruptly  not  far 
from  Harrisonburg. 

There  is  only  one  gap  in  the  Massanutton 
mountain,  and  that  is  opposite  the  towns  of 
New  Market  and  Luray. 

The  valley  east  of  the  mountain  is  called 
the  Page  Valley,  while  the  entire  valley,  in- 
cluding the  Page  Valley,  is  the  Shenandoah 
Valley. 

Some  of  the  children  who  will  read  this 
book  live  under  the  shadow  and  in  sight  of 
this  lovely  mountain,  which  enabled  Jackson 
to  play  at  "hide  and  seek"  with  his  foe,  and 
I  hope  they  will  understand  thoroughly  the 
great  movements  which  I  shall  relate. 

Though  Jackson  and  his  little  army  were 


142        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

safe  in  Swift  Run  Gap,  opposite  the  village 
of  Elkton,  for  awhile,  they  could  not  have 
remained  there  long,  as  three  major-generals, 
with  as  many  large  armies,  were  marching 
to  surround  and  crush  them.  Banks  was 
only  fifteen  miles  distant,  Milroy  was  com- 
ing by  way  of  Staunton  from  Western  Vir- 
ginia, and  Fremont  from  the  northwest. 
General  McDowell,  at  Fredericksburg,  was 
also  ordered  to  send  twenty  thousand  men  to 
the  Yalley,  instead  of  advancing  to  help 
McClellan,  who  was  now  near  Richmond 
Avith  a  large  army.  You  see,  Jackson  was 
bravely  obeying  General  Johnston's  orders 
to  keep  the  Federals  busy  in  the  Yalley  and 
to  prevent  them  from  reinforcing  McClellan. 
Now,  there  was  a  small  force  of  Confed- 
erates, under  General  Edward  Johnson,  on 
Shenandoah  mountain,  twenty  miles  west  of 
Staunton.  There  was  great  danger  that 
Milroy  with  his  larger  army  would  overcome 
Johnson,  take  Staunton,   and  inarch  on  to 


Generals  Jackson,  Johnston,  and  Lee, 


(143) 


144        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

join  Banks.  Their  two  armies  would  then 
be  large  enough  to  crush  Jackson. 

It  was  also  important  to  keep  Staunton 
out  of  the  hands  of  the  foe,  as  it  was  situated 
on  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  railway,  which 
carried  supplies  from  the  fertile  Valley  to 
Richmond. 

So  General  Jackson  wrote  to  General  Lee 
that  he  would  go  to  the  help  of  Johnson  and 
protect  Staunton,  if  he  (Lee)  would  send  a 
force  to  hold  Banks  in  check  during  his 
absence. 

This  General  Lee  did,  sending  from  Rich- 
mond General  Ewell  (u -el),  a  brave  officer, 
with  eight  thousand  men,  who  inarched  into 
Swift  Run  Gap  from  the  east  and  took  the 
places  which  Jackson's  men  had  just  left. 

It  was  now  Jackson's  object  to  reach 
Staunton  without  the  knowledge  of  Banks, 
so  he  marched,  with  great  difficulty,  through 
miry  roads,  down  the  mountain  about  eight 
miles  to  another  gap  across  the  Blue  Ridge, 
called  Brown's  Gap.     When  there,  he  turned 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        145 

east  and  marched  swiftly  across  the  mount- 
ain into  Albemarle  county,  passing  through 
the  village  of  White  Hall  to  Medium's  River 
Station.  Thence  the  troops  were  carried 
swiftly  by  rail  to  Staunton,  reaching  there 
on  the  night  of  the  4th  of  May,  to  the  great 
joy  of  the  people  of  Staunton,  who  thought 
that  they  had  been  deserted  by  Jackson  in 
their  time  of  need. 

By  Monday  the  whole  army  had  come  up. 
They  Avere  then  joined  by  General  Johnson 
and  his  army.  On  the  7th,  one  day  having 
been  spent  in  preparing  for  the  march,  Jack- 
son, with  General  Johnson's  command  in 
front,  marched  towards  Milroy,  who  was  now 
posted  on  Shenandoah  mountain. 

Jackson  had  been  joined  at  Staunton  by 
the  corps  of  cadets  from  the  Military  Insti- 
tute at  Lexington  under  Col.  Scott  Shipp. 
Many  of  them  were  mere  boys,  but  they  were 
filled  with  joy  at  taking  their  first  look  at 
grim  war  under  Stonewall  Jackson,  who  had 
so  lately  been  a  professor  in  that  school. 


146        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

As  the  Confederate  army  approached  Shen- 
andoah mountain,  the  Federals  retreated  to 
the  village  of  McDowell. 

On  Thursday,  May  8th,  Jackson  and 
Johnson,  with  the  command  of  the  latter 
still  in  advance,  climbed  the  sides  of  the 
mountain  overlooking  that  little  village. 

That  evening,  while  the  generals  were 
waiting  for  the  rest  of  the  army  to  come  up. 
General  Milroy  made  an  attack  upon  their 
position. 

Though  not  expecting  an  attack,  Jackson 
quickly  placed  his  troops  for  the  conflict, 
the  center  of  the  line  being  held  by  the 
Twelfth  G-eorgia  regiment  with  great  bravery. 
It  is  related  that,  when  ordered  at  one  time 
to  retire  behind  the  crest  of  the  hill  to 
escape  the  raking  fire  of  the  foe,  they  refused 
to  do  so,  and  kept  their  position.  The  next 
day  a  tall  youth  from  the  Georgia  regiment 
was  asked  why  they  did  not  fall  back  as 
ordered.  He  replied,  "We  did  not  come  all 
the  way  to  Virginia  to  run  before  Yankees." 


The  Twelfth  Georaia  Regiment  at  McDowell. 


(147) 


148        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON 

Just  before  the  close  of  the  "battle,  General 
Johnson  was  wounded  in  the  ankle  and 
compelled  to  leave  the  field. 

The  battle  of  McDowell  raged  from  half- 
past  four  to  half-past  eight  P.  M.,  the  shades 
of  night  closing  the  conflict.  Then  the  Fed- 
erals gave  up  the  assault  and  retreated 
from  the  field.  "By  nine  o'clock,"  says  Dr. 
Dabney,  "the  towc  of  the  struggle  had  passed 
away,  and  the  green  battle-field  reposed 
under  the  starlight  as  calmly  as  when  it 
had  been  occupied  only  by  its  peaceful 
herds  of  cattle." 

It  was  one  o'clock  A.  M.  before  General 
Jackson  reached  his  tent,  having  waited  to 
see  the  last  wounded  man  brought  off  the 
battle-field,  and  the  last  picket  posted.  He 
had  eaten  nothing  since  morning,  but  when 
his  faithful  servant,  Jim,  came  with  food,  he 
said,  "I  want  none — nothing  but  sleep"; 
and  in  a  moment  he  was  fast  asleep. 

He  was  in  the  saddle  at  peep  of  day ;  but, 
upon  climbing  the  mountain,  he  saw  that 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        149 

the  enemy  had  left  during  the  night.  He  at 
once  sent  this  dispatch  to  Richmond:  "God 
blessed  our  arms  with  victory  at  McDowell 
yesterday,"  and  then  set  out  in  pursuit  of 
the  fleeing  Federals.  He  had  followed  them 
as  far  as  Franklin,  when  the  woods  were  set 
on  fire  by  the  Federals  to  conceal  their  posi- 
tion. 

The  dense  smoke  hung  like  a  pall  over  the 
mountain  roads,  and  the  heat  from  the  blaz- 
ing forests  was  terrible.  But  still,  the  long 
column  pressed  on  until  Monday,  when  Gen- 
eral Jackson  received  an  order  from  General 
Lee  to  return  to  the  Valley  and  pay  his 
respects  to  General  Banks,  who  was  now  at 
Strasburg. 

When  the  latter  general  had  found  out 
that  Ewell  was  holding  the  Swift  Run  Gap, 
and  that  Jackson  had  left  to  go — no  one 
knew  whither — he  left  Harrisonburg  and 
retreated  to  Strasburg.  Jackson  was  lost, 
and,    not   knowing    where    he    might    next 


150        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

appear,  General  Banks  thought  it  more  pru- 
dent to  take  a  safer  position. 

Time  was  now  precious  to  Jackson;  so, 
after  halting  for  a  brief  rest,  during  which 
time  the  whole  army  met  to  render  thanks 
to  God  for  the  great  victory,  he  set  out  on 
his  return  march  to  the  Yalley. 

On  the  20th,  he  was  again  in  New  Mar- 
ket, where  he  was  joined  by  General  Ewell. 

By  a  bold  plan  and  a  swift  march  he 
had  saved  the  army  of  General  Johnson, 
and  prevented  Milroy  from  taking  Staunton 
and  joining  Banks,  and  now  he  was  again 
in  pursuit  of  the  latter. 

General  Banks  was  fortifying  at  Stras- 
burg,  and  seemed  to  expect  an  attack  in 
front,  so  Jackson  wisely  planned  to  attack 
him  in  the  rear. 

You  remember  that  I  told  you  that  just 
east  of  New  Market  there  is  a  pass,  or  gap, 
through  the  Massanutton  mountain.  Now 
Jackson  sent  a  small  force  of  cavalry  down 
the  turnpike  towards  Strasburg  to  hold  it, 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        151 

and  conceal  the  movements  of  the  main 
army,  which  he  himself  led  eastward  across 
the  mountain  into  the  Page  Valley. 

Hidden  by  the  friendly  mountain,  his 
troops  marched  quickly  and  silently  to  the 
town  of  Front  Royal,  which  is  at  the  northern 
end  of  the  mountain,  and  which  then  guarded 
the  flank  of  Banks'  army. 

So  swift  and  silent  had  been  the  march, 
that  Jackson's  men  were  nearly  in  sight  of 
the  town  before  anyone  knew  of  their 
presence. 

One  mile  and  a  half  from  the  town,  the 
pickets  were  driven  in,  and  an  instant  ad- 
vance was  ordered.  The  Confederate  troops 
rushed  to  the  attack.  The  Federals,  think- 
ing that  Jackson  was  at  least  one  hundred 
miles  away,  in  the  mountains  of  Western 
Virginia,  were  taken  completely  by  surprise. 
They  surrendered  by  hundreds,  giving  up 
quantities  of  valuable  stores,  among  which 
were  five  hundred  new  revolvers  and  a 
wagon  load  of  coffee. 


152        TEE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON 

The  people  of  Front  Royal  were  wild 
with  joy  at  seeing  the  Confederates  again, 
but  the  troops  were  not  permitted  to  stop. 
On  through  the  town  they  went  at  a  double- 
quick,  for  the  Federals  had  now  made  a 
stand  outside  of  the  town.  But  they  were 
speedily  put  to  flight,  and  the  pursuit  went  on. 

In  the  meantime,  the  Confederate  cavalry 
came  upon  a  body  of  Federals  near  Cedar- 
ville,  five  miles  from  Front  Royal.  A  charge 
was  at  once  made  upon  the  Federals  by  the 
Confederates,  and  the  whole  force  was  driven 
back.  The  Federals  then  reformed  in  an 
orchard,  and  were  again  charged  upon  by  the 
Confederates,  and,  after  a  fierce  contest,  were 
captured. 

As  night  came  on,  the  weary  Southern 
troops  went  into  camp,  for  they  were  quite 
worn  out  with  marching  and  fighting. 

The  next  morning,  May  24th,  the  troops 
were  again  moving  by  peep  of  day.  Our 
hero  himself  rode  forward  towards  Mid- 
dletown.      When  in  sight  of   the  turnpike 


154        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

which  leads  from  Strasburg  to  Winchester, 
he  saw  long  lines  of  Federal  horsemen  in  full 
retreat. 

The  batteries  of  Poague  and  Chew  were 
brought  forward  and  a  hot  fire  opened  upon 
the  retreating  foe.  The  latter  broke  in  wild 
confusion,  and  soon  the  turnpike  was  filled 
with  a  mass  of  struggling  and  dying  horses 
and  men.  A  few  regiments  which  formed 
the  rear  guard  fell  back  to  Strasburg,  and, 
leaving  their  baggage  at  that  place,  fled 
through  the  western  mountains  to  the  Poto- 
mac river. 

On  the  turnpike,  Ashby  with  his  cavalry 
followed  closely  after  the  fleeing  foe,  firing 
upon  them  with  shot  and  shell. 

Cooke  says:  " Either  a  shell  or  a  round 
shot  would  strike  one  of  the  wagons  and 
overturn  it,  and  before  those  behind  could 
stop  their  headway,  they  would  thunder 
down  on  the  remains  of  the  first.  Others 
would  tumble  in  so  as  to  block  up  the  road ; 
and  in  the  midst  of  it  all,  Ashby' s  troopers 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        155 

would  swoop  down,  taking  prisoners  or 
cutting  down  such  as  resisted." 

Ashby  himself  pressed  forward,  and  at 
one  time,  it  is  said,  took  as  many  as  thirty 
prisoners,  unaided  and  alone. 

But  Ashby' s  men  soon  betook  themselves 
to  plundering  the  wagons,  which  were  rich 
in  stores,  and  thus  gave  the  enemy  time  to 
recover  from  their  panic.  When  near  New- 
town, the  enemy  turned  and  fired  upon  their 
pursuers. 

At  dark,  however,  the  firing  ceased,  and 
Jackson  himself  went  forward'  to  urge  on 
the  pursuit. 

The  main  body  of  the  army  had  now 
come  up,  but  no  halt  was  made  for  food  or 
rest.  The  "foot  cavalry"  of  the  Valley 
marched  all  night  along  the  pike  lit  up  by 
"burning  wagons,  pontoon  bridges,  and 
stores." 

Every  now  and  then,  they  would  come 
upon  men  ambuscaded  along  the  sides  of 
the  pike,  and  fierce  fights  would  ensue. 


156        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.  THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

About  dawn  on  the  25th  of  May,  Jack- 
son's advance  force  climbed  the  lofty  hill 
southwest  of  Winchester.  This  hill  was 
already  held  by  the  Federals,  but  they  were 
charged  upon  by  the  Stonewall  Brigade,  and 
driven  back.  With  a  loud  shout  the  Con- 
federates gained  the  crest  of  the  hill  and 
planted  their  batteries.  Though  they  had 
marched  all  night,  they  took  no  rest  or  food, 
but  at  once  began  the  battle  of  Winchester. 

Ewell  fought  on  the  right  and  Taylor  on 
the  left.  "Jackson,"  says  a  writer,  "had 
his  war-look  on,  and  rode  about  the  held, 
regardless  of  shot  and  shell,  looking  as  calm 
as  if  nothing  were  going  on." 

At  last,  after  a  fierce  fight,  the  Federals 
gave  way,  and  Jackson  entered  Winchester 
at  the  heels  of  the  panic-stricken  army.  The 
people  of  the  town  were  beside  themselves 
with  delight  to  see  their  loved  general  once 
more. 

Jackson    was  for  the  first  time  excited. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        157 

He  waved  his  faded  cap  around  his  head 
and  cheered  with  a  right  good  will. 

But  the  troops  still  pressed  forward,  Jack- 
son leading  the  way.  When  one  of  his  offi- 
cers said,  "Don't  you  think  you  are  going 
into  too  much  danger,  General?"  his  reply 
was,  "Tell  the  troops  to  press  right  on  to 
the  Potomac."  And  they  did  press  onward 
until  the  enemy  was  forced  across  the  Poto- 
mac with  the  loss  of  many  prisoners  and 
valuable  stores. 

After  resting  a  few  days,  Jackson  advanced 
towards  Harper's  Ferry  with  the  view  of 
attacking  the  Federal  force  there,  but  was 
stopped  by  the  news  that  two  armies,  one 
under  General  Shields,  from  the  east;  the 
other  under  General  Fremont,  from  the  west, 
were  to  meet  at  Strasburg  and  thus  cut  him 
off  from  Richmond  and  capture  him. 

He  at  once  hastened  back  to  Winchester, 
where  he  collected  his  prisoners  and  the 
stores  of  ammunition  and  medicine  which 
he  had  captured.     These   he   sent  up   the 


158        TEE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

Valley,  and  followed  rapidly  with  his  whole 
army. 

In  the  meantime,  there  was  great  terror 
at  Washington  and  in  the  North.  Men 
wore  anxious  faces,  and  were  asking  each 
other,  "Where  is  Jackson?"  They  were 
afraid  that  he  would  turn  and  capture 
Washington. 

But  Jackson  had  only  about  fifteen  thou- 
sand men,  and  he  could  not  risk  the  loss  of 
the  rich  stores  which  he  had  gained  and  the 
destruction  of  his  noble  army,  so  he  put 
forth  all  his  skill  and  nerve  to  save  them. 

The  Confederates  now  began  a  race  to 
reach  Strasburg  before  the  Federals,  the 
larger  part  of  the  army  marching  from  near 
Harper's  Ferry  to  Strasburg,  nearly  fifty 
miles,  in  about  twenty-four  hours.  Well 
might  they  be  called  the  "foot  cavalry." 

As  Jackson  marched  into  Strasburg,  Gen- 
eral Fremont's  advance  was  almost  in  sight; 
and,  as  the  Stonewall  Brigade  had  not  yet 
come  up,   Jackson   sent   General   Ewell  to 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEN.  THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        159 

hold  Fremont  in  check.  A  fierce  battle 
ensued,  but  Ewell  at  last  drove  back  the 
enemy,  and  the  Stonewall  Brigade  coming 
up  that  evening,  the  whole  army  continued 
to  retreat  up  the  Valley. 

The  race  had  been  won  by  Jackson,  who 
was,  for  the  present,  safe.  In  a  brief  space 
of  time,  he  had  flanked  the  enemy  at  Front 
Eoyal,  chased  them  to  Middletown,  beaten 
them  at  Winchester,  and  sent  them  flying 
across  the  Potomac.  When  nearly  entrapped 
by  two  other  columns,  he  had  passed  be- 
tween them,  and  was  now  hurrying  with  his 
rich  stores  to  the  upper  Valley.  Cooke  tells 
us  that  he  had  captured  two  thousand  three 
hundred  prisoners,  one  hundred  cattle,  thirty- 
four  thousand  pounds  of  bacon,  salt,  sugar, 
coffee,  hard  bread,  and  cheese,  valuable  med- 
ical stores,  $125,185  worth  of  other  stores, 
two  pieces  of  artillery,  and  many  small-arms 
and  horses.  All  this  was  gained  with  the 
loss  of  about  four  hundred  men. 

But,  as  Jackson  retreated  up  the  Valley, 


160        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

he  was  again  threatened  by  a  great  danger. 
Shields' s  column  marched  up  the  Page  Valley 
with  the  view  of  crossing  the  Massanutton 
at  New  Market  and  striking  Jackson  in  the 
rear,  just  as  Jackson  had  done  to  Banks 
when  he  went  down  to  Front  Royal.  But 
Jackson  was  too  wary  to  be  taken  by  surprise. 

He  sent  swift  horsemen  across  the  moun- 
tain, who  burned  the  bridges  over  the  south 
branch  of  the  Shenandoah  at  Columbia  Mills 
and  the  White  House,  and  then  placed  sig- 
nal stations  on  top  of  the  mountain  to  inform 
him  of  what  was  going  on  in  the  Page  Valley. 

Fremont  was  now  pressing  on  his  rear, 
but  he  moved  swiftly  up  the  Valley  with 
the  main  army,  while  Ashby  kept  guard  on 
every  side.  When  Harrisonburg  was  reached, 
he  again  marched  east  and  took  his  stand 
near  the  village  of  Port  Republic. 

On  the  6th  of  June,  as  the  gallant  Ashby 
was  leading  a  charge  to  repel  the  advance  of 
the  Federal  forces,  he  fell,  pierced  to  the 
heart  by  a  single   bullet.      His  last  words 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        161 

were,  " Charge,  Virginians!"  Thus,  in  the 
moment  of  victory,  died  the  brave  and  noble 
Ashby.  His  loss  was  deeply  felt  by  Jack- 
son, who  now  needed  more  than  ever,  the 
daring  and  skill  of  his  "Chief  of  Cavalry." 

As  I  have  told  you,  Jackson  was  at  Port 
Kepublic,  a  village  at  the  forks  of  the  Shen- 
andoah river.  Fremont  was  at  Harrison- 
burg, fifteen  miles  to  the  northwest,  and 
Shields  was  at  Conrad's  Store,  fifteen  miles 
to  the  northeast.  The  space  between  the 
three  generals  formed  the  sides  of  a  triangle. 
Just  back  of  Jackson,  in  the  Blue  Ridge,  was 
Brown's  Gap,  through  which  he  could  retreat 
and  join  Lee  before  Richmond. 

But  Jackson  had  no  idea  of  leaving  the 
Valley  without  a  parting  blow.  The  Shen- 
andoah was  very  high,  so  that  Shields  and 
Fremont  could  not  unite  their  forces.  Jack- 
son therefore  determined  to  attack  Shields 
first,  and,  if  victorious,  then  to  turn  his 
attention  to  Fremont.  I  have  forgotten  to 
tell  you  that  Shields  was  east  of  the  river 


162 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 


and  Fremont  to  the  west;  while  Jackson 
was  between  the  north  and  south  branches 
of  the  Shenandoah,  which  unite  at  Port 
Republic.  There  was  a  bridge  over  the 
north  branch,  between  Jackson  and  Fre- 
mont; but  over  the  south  branch,  between 
Jackson  and  Shields,  there  was  only  a  ford. 
The  north  bank  was  high,  while  the  south 
was  low,  and  stretched  away  in  broad  mead- 
ows towards  the  mountains. 

Jackson,  leaving  the  trusty  Ewell  at  Cross 

Keys  to  watch  Fre- 
mont, who  was  ad- 
vancing from  Harrison- 
burg,  took  possession 
of  the  heights  over- 
looking the  bridge  at 
Port  Republic,  and  sta- 
tioned there  two  bri- 
gades and  his  remain- 
ing artillery.  A  small 
body  of  cavalry  was  sent  across  South  river 
to  find  out  the  position  of  Shields. 


General  R.  S.  Ewell. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        163 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  8th  of  June, 
the  cavalry  came  galloping  back  with  the 
news  that  Shields' s  army  was  close  at  hand. 
Jackson,  who  was  in  the  town  with  some  of 
his  staff,  at  once  gave  orders  for  the  batteries 
on  the  north  side  to  open  fire ;  but  before  it 
could  be  done,  the  Federal  cavalry  dashed 
into  the  town  followed  by  artillery,  which 
rumbled  forward  and  took  position  at  the 
southern  end  of  the  bridge. 

Jackson  and  his  staff  were  now  cut  off 
from  his  army,  which  was  on  the  north 
bank.  We  are  told  by  Cooke  and  others 
that  Jackson,  with  great  presence  of  mind, 
rode  towards  the  bridge;  and,  rising  in  his 
stirrups,  called  sternly  to  the  Federal  officer 
commanding  the  gun,  "Who  told  you  to 
post  that  gun  there,  sir?  Bring  it  over 
here!"  The  officer,  thinking  that  Jackson 
was  a  Federal  general,  bowed,  "limbered 
up"  the  piece,  and  was  preparing  to  move. 
In  the  meantime  Jackson  and  his  staff  gal- 


General  Jackson  at  Port  Republic  Bridge. 


(164) 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        165 

loped  across  the  bridge,  and  were  soon  safe 
on  the  northern  side. 

No  time  was  lost  by  the  Confederates. 
Their  artillery  opened  fire  upon  the  Federals, 
and  Jackson  in  person  led  the  Thirty-seventh 
Virginia  regiment,  drove  the  foe  from  the 
bridge,  and  captured  the  gun  with  the  loss 
of  only  two  men  wounded. 

In  the  meantime,  Jackson's  long  wagon- 
train,  which  contained  his  ammunition,  was 
bravely  defended  on  the  outskirts  of  the 
village  by  a  handful  of  pickets  and  a-  section 
of  artillery  until  help  came. 

The  fire  of  the  guns  on  the  north  bank 
made  it  impossible  for  the  Federals  to  hold 
the  village,  so,  leaving  their  other  gun,  they 
retreated,  and  dashed  across  the  ford  of  the 
South  river  by  the  way  they  had  come. 

Hardly  had  the  guns  stopped  firing  at 
Port  Republic,  before  heavy  firing  was  heard 
in  the  direction  of  Cross  Keys,  five  miles  off, 
between  Ewell  and  Fremont.  The  latter  had 
twenty  thousand  men,  while  Ewell  had  only 


166        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.  THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

about  six  thousand.  The  Confederates  were 
posted  with  great  skill  upon  a  ridge,  and 
after  righting  from  ten  A.  M.  until  nightfall, 
at  last  drove  back  the  enemy  with  great 
loss. 

The  battle  of  Cross  Keys  having  been 
fought,  the  Confederate  troops  lay  upon  their 
arms,  ready  to  renew  the  fray  the  next  day; 
but  Jackson  had  other  plans. 

He  had  determined  to  strike  Shields  next ; 
so,  leaving  a  guard  to  watch  Fremont,  he 
ordered  Ewell  to  march  at  break  of  day  to 
Port  Republic. 

At  midnight  he  caused  a  foot-bridge  to  be 
thrown  across  South  river  so  that  his  in- 
fantry might  pass  over  to  attack  Shields. 
This  bridge  was  made  by  placing  wagons 
lengthwise  across  the  swollen  stream.  The 
floor  of  the  bridge  was  formed  of  long  boards 
laid  loosely  from  one  wagon  to  another. 
Over  this  rude,  frail  structure,  the  whole 
body  of  infantry  passed,  but  not  so  quickly 
as  its  general  wished.     About  midway  the 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        167 

stream,  for  some  reason,  one  wagon  was 
about  two  feet  higher  than  the  next.  This 
made  a  step,  and  all  the  boards  on  the 
higher  wagon  were  loose  but  one.  When 
the  column  began  to  move  over,  several  men 
were  thrown,  by  the  loose  planks,  into  the 
water ;  so,  refusing  to  trust  any  but  the  firm 
plank,  the  men  went,  at  this  point,  in  single 
file.  This  made  the  crossing  over  very 
tedious;  and,  instead  of  being  in  line  to 
attack  Shields  at  sunrise,  it  was  ten  o'clock 
before  the  entire  army  had  passed  over. 
Thus,  three  loose  boards  cost  the  Confed- 
erates a  bloody  battle;  for  they  found  the 
Federals  drawn  up  in  battle  array  and  ready 
for  the  fight.  This  incident  shows  how  much 
care  should  be  taken  in  performing  the  most 
trivial  duty ;  as  the  success  of  great  events  is 
often  affected  by  very  slight  causes.  It  is 
said  that  Jackson  hoped  to  surprise  Shields, 
whip  him  in  a  few  hours,  and  then  recross 
the  river  to  rout  Fremont. 

But  the  battle  of  Port  Republic,  June  9th, 


168        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

raged  furiously  for  hours.  The  Federals 
fought  with  great  courage,  and  it  was  not 
until  evening  that  they  gave  way  and  re- 
treated, panic-stricken,  from  the  field. 

The  Confederates  followed  them  eight  or 
ten  miles  down  the  river,  and  returned  laden 
with  spoils  and  prisoners. 

At  ten  o'clock  A.  M.,  Jackson  sent  orders 
for  the  guard  left  at  Cross  Keys  under  Gen- 
eral Trimble  and  Colonel  Patton  to  march  to 
his  aid  and  to  burn  the  bridge  behind  them. 
This  they  did,  and  came  up  in  time  to  join 
in  the  fight. 

Towards  nightfall  General  Jackson  led 
his  weary  troops  by  a  side  road  into  the  safe 
recesses  of  Brown's  Gap,  in  the  Blue  Ridge. 

As  they  passed  the  field  of  battle  on  their 
return,  they  saw  the  hills  on  the  north  side 
of  the  river  crowded  with  the  troops  of 
Fremont,  who  had  arrived  in  time  to  see  the 
rout  of  Shields. 

The  river  being  high,  they  did  not  attempt 
to  cross,  but  began  a  furious  cannonade  upon 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        169 

the  Confederate  surgeons  and  men  who  were 
caring  for  the  wounded  and  burying  the  dead. 

The  next  day,  scouts  brought  word  to 
Jackson  that  Fremont  was  building  a  bridge, 
but  soon  after,  having  learned,  doubtless, 
that  General  Shields'  s  army  was  entirely 
routed,  he  retreated. 

On  June  12th,  the  Confederate  cavalry 
under  Colonel  Munford  entered  Harrison- 
burg, Fremont  having  gone  back  down  the 
Valley,  leaving  behind  him  his  sick  and 
wounded,  and  many  valuable  stores. 

Four  hundred  and  fifty  Federals  were 
taken  prisoners  on  the  field,  while  as  many 
more  were  found  in  the  hospitals.  One 
thousand  small-arms  and  nine  field-pieces 
fell  to  the  victorious  Confederates.  The 
Federal  loss  in  the  two  battles  was  about 
two  thousand.  In  the  battle  of  Cross  Keys 
Jackson  lost  only  forty-two  killed  and  two 
hundred  and  thirty-one  Avounded;  but  in 
the    battle    of    Port    Republic,    ninety-one 

12 


170        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

officers  and  men  were  killed,  and  six  hun- 
dred and  eighty-six  wounded. 

Though  Jackson's  plans  had  not  been 
entirely  carried  out,  he  was  now  rid  of  the 
two  armies  of  forty  thousand  men  which 
had  been  on  his  front  and  flanks,  and  had 
threatened  to  crush  him. 

Within  forty  days  his  troops  had  marched 
four  hundred  miles,  fought  four  great  battles, 
and  defeated  four  separate  armies,  sending 
to  the  rear  over  three  thousand  prisoners 
and  vast  trains  of  stores  and  ammunition. 

From  this  time  Jackson  stood  forth  as  a 
leader  of  great  genius;  the  little  orphan 
boy  had  indeed  climbed  the  heights  of  fame 
amid  a  " blaze  of  glory." 

On  the  12th  of  June,  Jackson  led  his 
army  from  its  camp,  in  Brown's  Gap,  to  the 
plains  of  Mt.  Meridian,  a  few  miles  above 
Port  Republic.  Here,  the  wearied  men 
rested  for  five  days,  while  Colonel  Munford, 
who  now  commanded  the  cavalry,  kept 
watch  on  the  turnpike  below  Harrisonburg. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.  THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        171 

This  is  the  dispatch  which  Jackson  sent 
to  Richmond: 

"  Near  Port  Republic,  June  9th,  1862. 

Through  God's  blessing,  the  enemy  near  Port 
Republic  was  this  day  routed,  with  the  loss  of 
six  pieces  of  his  artillery. 

T.  J.  JACKSON, 

Major-  General,  commandiitg. 

The  Saturday  following  the  battle  was 
set  apart  by  General  Jackson  as  a  day  of 
thanksgiving  and  prayer,  and  the  next  day 
(Sunday)  the  Lord's  Supper  was  celebrated 
by  the  Christian  soldiers  from  all  the  army. 
General  Jackson  was  present  at  this  service, 
and  partook  of  the  sacred  feast  in  company 
with  his  men. 

On  the  16th  of  June,  General  Jackson 
ordered  Colonel  Munford  to  press  down  the 
pike,  if  possible,  as  far  as  New  Market,  and 
to  make  the  enemy  believe  that  his  whole 
army  was  advancing.  This  Colonel  Munford 
did,  and  the  Federals,  believing  that  Jack- 


172        TEE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

son  was  again  on    the  march,  retreated  to 
Strasburg  and  began  to  fortify  themselves. 

In  the  meanwhile,  June  17th,  Jackson 
had  begun  a  march,  but  not  towards  Stras- 
burg. The  mighty  army  of  McClellan  had 
advanced  so  close  to  Richmond  that  at  night 
the  reflection  of  its  camp-tires  could  be  seen 
from  the  city;  and  General  Lee  sent  for 
Jackson  to  come  to  his  aid  as  swiftly  as 
possible. 

Great  care  was  taken  to  make  the  Fed- 
erals believe  that  troops  were  being  sent  to 
Jackson,  so  that  he  could  again  go  down 
the  Valley,  and  attack  Fremont  and  Shields 
at  Strasburg.  A  division  of  men  was  sent 
as  far  as  Staunton,  and  the  report  was  spread 
that  a  large  force  was  on  the  march  to  Jack- 
son; but  the  truth  was,  that  our  hero  was 
already  on  his  way  to  Richmond,  where  the 
next  blow  was  to  be  struck. 

It  was  important  to  keep  the  Federals  in 
ignorance  of  Jackson's  movement,  so  Colonel 
Munford  was  ordered  to  make  a  great  show 
with   his  men  along  the  turnpike,   and  to 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        173 

allow  no  news  to  be  carried  to  the  foe.  The 
men  were  told  to  give  this  answer  to  all 
questions,  "I  do  not  know."  The  historian 
Cooke  tells  us  this  amusing  incident,  which 
grew  out  of  the  above  order:  "One  of 
Hood's  men  left  the  ranks  to  go  to  a  cherry- 
tree  near  by,  when  Jackson  rode  past  and 
saw  him.  'Where  are  you  going?'  asked 
the  General.  'I  don't  know,'  replied  the 
soldier.  '  To  what  command  do  you  belong  ? ' 
'I  don't  know.'  'Well,  what  State  are  you 
from ? '  'I  don't  know.'  ' What  is  the  mean- 
ing of  all  this?'  asked  Jackson.  'Well,'  was 
the  reply,  'Old  Stonewall  and  General  Hood 
issued  orders  yesterday  that  we  were  not  to 
know  anything  until  after  the  next  fight.' 
Jackson  laughed  and  rode  on." 

On  the  25th  of  June,  the  corps  reached 
Ashland,  near  Richmond. 

Jackson  had  gone  on  in  advance  to  the 
headquarters  of  General  Lee,  where  his  post 
in  the  coming  strife  was  assigned  him. 


174        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.  THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

Flank,  side  of  an  army  or  fleet. 

Re'in-force',  to  send  more  soldiers. 

Mys'tery,  a  great  secret. 

Petition  (pe-tish'-un),  a  request. 

Gen'ius  (jen'-yus),  a  man  of  wonderful  mind. 

Ad'jutant,  a  military  officer  who  assists  another. 

Describe — 

The  battle  of  Kernstown. 

The  retreat  to  Swift  Run  Gap,   McDowell, 

Front    Royal,    Winchester,    Cross    Keys, 

Port  Republic. 
The  march  to  Richmond. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        175 


CHAPTEK  VIII. 
A  Major-General. 

(CONTINUED.) 

General  McClellan  was  now  on  the  banks 
of  the  Chickahominy  river,  at  one  point  only 
six  miles  from  Bichmond,  with  the  largest 
and  best  equipped  army  that  had  ever  been 
raised  upon  American  soil. 

His  position  was  a  strong  one,  having  the 
Pamun'key  river  on  one  side  and  the  James 
on  the  other,  with  the  marshes  of  the  Chick- 
ahominy in  front  as  natural  barriers  to  the 
assaults  of  the  Confederates.  Besides,  he 
had  thoroughly  fortified  his  line,  which  swept 
in  a  crescent  shape  from  Meadow  Bridge 
road  on  the  right,  across  the  Chickahominy, 
to  the  Williamsburg  road  on  the  left — a  dis- 
tance of  about  fifteen  miles. 

General  Lee  now  determined  to  send  Gen- 
eral Jackson  to  the  rear  of  the  enemy  to 


176        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

turn  their  flank,  while  General  A.  P.  Hill 
and  Longstreet  assailed  them  in  front. 

On  the  evening  of  the  26th  of  June,  Gen- 
eral A.  P.  Hill  advanced  upon  Mechanics- 
ville  and  attacked  the  strong 
position  of  the  Federals.  The 
latter  defended  themselves 
bravely,  but  at  last  fell  back 
to  their  works  on  Beaverdam 
creek.  The  victorious  Con- 
federates   followed,    and   an      &en- ^.  p,  mil. 

artillery  fire  was  kept  up  until  nine  o'clock 
at  night.  The  attack  was  renewed  at  dawn 
the  next  morning  and  raged  for  hours,  when, 
suddenly,  the  Federals  retreated  in  haste  from 
their  strong  position,  leaving  everything  in 
flames. 

Jackson  had  come  up,  turned  their  flank, 
and  caused  them  to  retire.  Generals  Hill 
and  Longstreet  followed  them  until  about 
noon,  when  they  found  the  Federals  again 
drawn  up  for  battle  behind  Powhite  creek, 
on    a   ridge   whose  slope   was  fortified   by 


THE  LIFE   OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        177 

breastworks  of  trees,  and  whose  crest  was 
crowned  with  batteries  of  frowning  guns. 

The  Confederate  troops  at  once  advanced, 
but  were  repulsed  with  great  loss.  Again 
they  charged  up  the  hill,  and  gained  the 
crest  only  to  be  driven  back  by  the  storm 
of  shot  and  shell. 

Longstreet  was  now  ordered  to  make  a 
move  on  the  right  towards  Gaines's  Mill, 
where  the  Federals  were  massed  in  a  strong 
position.  In  the  meanwhile  General  Lee 
ordered  General  Jackson  to  advance  to  the 
help  of  Hill.  About  five  o'clock  P.  M.  the 
sound  of  guns  was  heard  to  the  left,  and 
soon  Jackson's  corps  was  in  the  thickest  of 
the  fight. 

Before  them  were  a  swamp,  a  deep  stream, 
masses  of  felled  timber,  and  a  wood  filled 
with  armed  men,  and  cannon  belching  forth 
shot  and  shell.  The  work  was  hard,  but 
when  Jackson  gave  the  order,  his  men  swept 
forward    with    wild    cheers    and    a   roar  of 


178        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 


musketry,  while  above  the  clang  arose  the 
cry  of  Jackson !  Jackson !  Jackson ! 

The  men  rushed  on  through  the  swamp, 
across  the  creek,  and  up  into  the  wood,  and 
drove  the  enemy  from  point  to  point  until 
they  gained  the  top  of  the  hill. 

On  the  right  of  the  line,  Hood's  Texas 
brigade  charged  with  a  yell, 
leaped  ditch  and  stream,  and 
drove  the  foe  pell-mell  before 
them.  In  this  charge  they 
lost  one  thousand  men,  but 
took  fourteen  cannon  and 
nearly  a  regiment  of  prisoners. 
The  enemy  now  retreated  in  wild  disorder 
all  along  the  line,  and  the  battle  of  Old  Cold 
Harbor  was  won  by  the  Confederates.  The 
very  name  of  Jackson  had  struck  terror  to 
the  foe! 

The  next  morning,  the  29th  of  June,  Jack- 
son was  ordered   to  move   on  the  rear  of 
McClellan's  army. 
At    Savage    Station,    the    Confederates, 


General  J.  B,  Hood. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   1E0MA8  J.  JACKSON.        179 

under  General  Magruder,  had  a  fierce  fight 
with  the  rear  guard  of  the  Federals.  At 
nightfall  the  latter  again  gave  way,  leaving 
behind  vast  stores  and  a  number  of  wounded 
men.  While  the  battle  at  Savage  Station 
had  been  going  on,  the  main  body  of  the 
Federal  army  passed  over  the  bridge  at 
White  Oak  swamp,  destroyed  it,  and  were 
for  awhile  safe,  for  the  Confederates  could 
not  pass  over  the  marshy  stream  under  the 
fire  of  the  Federals,  who  were  massed  on  the 
opposite  bank. 

General  Jackson  opened  fire  with  his 
artillery,  and  the  next  morning,  the  1st  of 
July,  forced  the  passage  of  White  Oak 
swamp,  and  captured  a  part  of  the  Federal 
artillery. 

In  the  meantime  a  fierce  battle  had  been 
fought  at  Frasier's  farm,  by  Generals  Long- 
street  and  A.  P.  Hill,  with  another  portion 
of  McClellan's  army.  Under  cover  of  night, 
the  latter  drew  off,  leaving  his  dead  and 
wounded,  and  a  large  number  of  prisoners. 


180        TEE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

General  Jackson  was  now  placed  in  front 
of  the  Confederate  forces  in  pursuit  of  the 
foe,  who  was  nearing  the  James  river. 
It  was  General  Lee's  plan  to  cut  them  off 
from  the  river  and  destroy  the  whole  army, 
but  the  Confederates  were  worn  out  with 
much  fighting,  and  General  McClellan  was 
allowed  to  make  a  stand  on  Malvern  Hill. 
This  strong  position  he  had  hastily  fortified; 
and  here,  as  a  wild  animal  at  bay,  was  his 
whole  army,  determined  to  contend  for 
existence. 

General  Lee  ordered  an  assault,  placing 
Jackson  and  D.  H.  Hill  on  the  left  and 
Magruder  on  the  right.  Owing  to  the  tim- 
ber and  marshes,  the  Confederates  could  use 
but  little  artillery,  while  the  Federals,  from 
their  greater  height,  .rained  a  storm  of  shot 
and  shell  from  three  hundred  cannon. 
The  gunboats  on  the  James  also  threw 
their  monstrous  shells  above  the  heads  of  the 
Confederates.  In  spite  of  all  odds,  these 
devoted    men    (Jackson's)    charged    across 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        181 

marshes  and  up  the  hill,  forcing  the  enemy 
back;  but,  after  a  fierce  combat,  they  fell 
back  with  great  loss.  Again  and  again 
they  charged,  with  the  same  result.  At  sun- 
set, Magruder,  who  with  much  difficulty  had 
gotten  his  troops  into  position,  charged  on 
the  right  with  great  bravery. 

As  darkness  came  on,  the  Confederates 
fought  with  renewed  courage.  Whole  lines 
of  the  enemy  fell  beneath  their  musket  fire, 
but  the  guns  could  not  be  taken  by  the 
Confederates,  because  no  line  of  men  could 
live  within  the  zone  of  fire  which  flamed 
from  the  mouths  of  the  blazing  cannon. 

About  ten  o'clock  P.  M.  the  firing  ceased, 
and  the  Confederate  troops,  holdirig  their 
position,  slept  upon  the  battle-field. 

When  the  battle  had  ended  thus,  Jackson 
went  slowly  to  the  rear,  where  his  faithful 
servant,  Jim,  was  waiting  for  him  with  food 
and  a  pallet  made  upon  the  ground.  After 
eating  a  few  morsels,  Jackson  lay  down  and 


1S2       TEE  LIFE  Of  GW.  TEOMAS  J.  JACKSOtf. 

fell  into  a  deep  sleep.  About  one  o'clock, 
Generals  Hill,  Ewell,  and  Early  came  to  tell 
him  that  their  commands  were  cut  to  pieces, 
and  that  when  day  broke  they  would  not 
be  able  to  continue  the  fight.  Jackson  list- 
ened to  them  in  silence,  and  then  said: 
"McClellan  and  his  army  will  be  gone  by 
daylight."  The  generals  thought  him  mad, 
but  when  morning  came,  they  found  that  he 
had  foretold  aright  the  flight  of  McClellan. 
Malvern  Hill  was  found  to  be  deserted  by 
the  foe.  They  had  retreated  during  the 
night  to  Harrison's  landing,  under  cover  of 
their  gunboats,  and  Eichmond  was  for  the 
time  safe. 

The  battle  of  Malvern  Hill  was  a  dearly 
bought  victory  for  the  Confederates.  General 
Jackson  lost  in  the  battle  three  hundred 
and  seventy-seven  men  killed,  and  one  thou- 
sand seven  hundred  and  forty-six  wounded, 
with  thirty-nine  missing.  As  soon  as  pos- 
sible, the  Southern  army  followed  McClellan, 
but  found   him  too  strongly  entrenched   to 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        183 

attack.  So  the  worn-out  men  went  into 
camp  near  by,  and  rested  for  the  first  time 
in  a  fortnight. 

General  Jackson  soon  grew  weary  of 
watching  McClellan,  and  began  to  plan  a 
bold  march  into  Maryland  to  threaten  Wash- 
ington city.  It  was  not  long  before  he  did 
move  northward.  News  came  that  a  Fed- 
eral army  of  forty  thousand  men,  under  Gen- 
eral Pope,  was  coming  towards  Gordonsville 
to  the  help  of  McClellan.  General  Jackson 
was  at  once  ordered  to  advance  to  meet  him 
and  drive  him  back. 

His  corps  moved  forward,  and,  on  Augusl 
9th,  fought  the  battle  of  Cedar  Eun.  In 
this  fierce  battle  one  of  the  regiments  began 
to  fall  back.  At  that  instant  Jackson  placed 
himself  in  front  of  his  men,  drew  his  sword, 
and  cried  in  a  voice  of  thunder,  "Kally, 
brave  men!  Jackson  will  lead  you !  Follow 
me!"  This  turned  the  tide  of  battle,  and  the 
Federal  army  broke  into  full  retreat.  Just 
before   this   battle,    some   officers   enquired 


184        TEE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

of  "Jim,"  the  General's  servant,  if  there 
were  any  signs  of  a  battle.  "Oh,  yes,  sir," 
replied  he,  "the  General  is  a  great  man 
for  praying  night  and  morning,  all  times; 
but  when  I  see  him  get  up  in  the  night  and 
go  off  and  pray,  then  I  know  there  is  going 
to  be  something  to  pay;  and  I  go  right 
straight  and  pack  his  haversack,  for  I  know 
he  will  call  for  it  in  the  morning." 

General  Lee  now  came  up  with  the  greater 
part  of  the  Southern  army,  leaving  only  a 
small  force  to  watch  General  McClellan. 
The  plan  of  the  Southern  leaders  was  to  rout 
General  Pope  and  march  northward  to 
threaten  Washington,  thus  compelling  Gen- 
eral McClellan  to  leave  his  camp  on  the 
James  river. 

The  main  body  of  Lee's  army  moved 
nearer  to  Pope's  front,  while  Jackson's  corps 
moved  off  to  the  northwest,  and  was  again 
"lost."  It  was  marching  across  the  Rappa- 
hannock  and  behind  Bull  Run  mountains, 
which  hid  it  from  the  enemy. 


Ueneral  Jackson  preparing  for  battte. 


13 


:i85) 


186        TEE  LIFE  OF  GEN   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

On  August  26th  it  passed  through  the 
mountains  at  Thoroughfare  Gap,  and  took  a 
position  between  Pope  and  Washington  city. 

Jackson  at  once  took  Manassas  Junction, 
where  three  hundred  prisoners  and  immense 
quantities  of  stores  were  captured.  The 
poor,  hungry  soldiers  took  what  could  be 
carried  away,  and  the  rest  was  burned. 

As  soon  as  Pope  heard  that  Jackson  was 
in  his  rear,  he  moved  to  meet  him,  and 
ordered  McDowell  to  close  in  upon  him  from 
the  direction  of  Gainesville,  saying,  "We 
shall  bag  the  whole  crowd."  But  the  wary 
Jackson  was  a  match  for  his  foes.  Taking 
a  good  position  upon  the  old  battle-field  of 
Manassas,  he  at  once  attacked  the  enemy 
coming  up  on  the  evening  of  August  28th. 
When  darkness  fell  upon  the  blood-drenched 
plain,  the  Confederates  were  the  victors. 
On  the  next  morning  the  fight  was  renewed, 
but  Jackson's  men  were  almost  exhausted, 
when  Longstreet's  corps  appeared  and  soon 
turned  the  tide  of  battle. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        187 

It  was  not  long  before  Pope's  army  was 
in  full  retreat  towards  Washington,  and 
Jackson  was  again  victor.  During  a  part 
of  the  battle  a  severe  storm  came  up.  An 
aide  from  General  A.  P.  Hill  rode  up,  and 
reported  that  his  ammunition  was  wet,  and 
asked  leave  to  retire.  "Give  my  compli- 
ments to  General  Hill,"  said  Jackson,  "and 
tell  him  that  the  Yankee  ammunition  is  as 
wet  as  his;  to  stay  where  he  is."  "There 
was  always  blood  and  danger,"  says  a  friend, 
"when  Jackson  began  his  sentences  with, 
"Give  my  compliments." 

General  Lee  now  determined  to  cross  the 
Potomac  and  threaten  Washington,  and 
Jackson  led  the  advance.  On  September 
6th  he  reached  Frederick  and  remained  there 
saveral  days,  resting  and  refitting  his  com- 
mand. When  General  Lee  came  up,  he  at 
once  sent  General  Jackson  to  Harper's  Ferry 
(September  10th),  to  capture  the  Federal 
forces   at   that   place.      After    taking    the 


188        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

heights  around  that  town,  he  proceeded  to 
take  the  town  by  storm. 

In  a  short  while  the  garrison  of  eleven 
thousand  men,  with  seventy-three  cannon, 
thirteen  thousand  stand  of  small-arms  and 
a  vast  amount  of  stores,  surrendered.  Jack- 
son, leaving  General  Hill  to  receive  the 
captured  prisoners  and  property,  at  once  set 
out  to  return  to  General  Lee,  at  Sharpsburg, 
a  little  village  two  and  one-half  miles  from 
the  Potomac  river.  After  a  weary  night- 
march  he  reached  that  place  on  the  morning 
of  the  16th.  He  found  General  Lee  facing 
the  hosts  of  McClellan  and  drawn  up  for 
battle.  When  he  had  rested  his  worn-out 
men  for  several  hours,  he  took  his  position 
on  the  left,  next  to  the  Potomac  river.  This 
was  the  post  of  danger,  for  against  it,  on  the 
17th,  McClellan  massed  forty-four  thousand 
men. 

The  corps  of  Jackson  numbered  now,  after 
so  much  fighting  and  marching,  less  than 
seven  thousand   men,   but  this  little  band 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        189 

held  the  ground  throughout  the  day,  and 
bravely  drove  back  every  assault  of  the 
enemy. 

When  night  closed  the  bloody  fray,  each 
army  held  its  own  position.  On  the  next 
morning,  General  Lee  awaited  another  at- 
tack, but  General  McClellan  had  received  so 
heavy  a  blow  that  he  would  not  venture 
another  battle  until  fresh  troops  had  come  up. 

The  18th  was  spent  by  both  armies  in 
burying  their  dead  and  caring  tor  the 
wounded.  In  the  evening  General  Lee, 
learning  that  large  bodies  of  fresh  troops 
were  reaching  McClellan,  determined  to 
recross  the  Potomac.  As  soon  as  night 
came,  the  troops  began  to  move  towards  the 
ford  at  Shepherdstown.  "For  hours,"  says 
Dr.  Dabney,  "Jackson  was  seen  seated  upon 
his  horse,  motionless  as  a  statue,  watching 
the  passage  until  the  last  man  and  the  last 
carriage  had  touched  the  Southern  shore." 
The  battle  of  Sharpsburg,  or  Antietam 
u'(An  te'tam),  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  was 


190        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

a  drawn  battle — neither  side  was  victorious, 
each  losing  in  killed  and  wounded  about 
twelve  thousand  men. 

The  Southern  men  were  so  worn  out  and 
foot-sore  from  constant  marching,  and  weak 
from  starvation,  that  they  were  really  unfit 
for  the  battle  of  Sharpsburg.  More  than 
half  of  Lee's  army  was  left  behind  along  the 
Virginia  roads,  and  those  who,  wan  and 
gaunt,  fought  the  battle,  were  kept  up 
during  that  bloody  day  only  by  their  devo- 
tion to  the  Southern  cause  and  leaders. 
Fortune  also  had  smiled  upon  McClellan 
by  revealing  to  him  the  plans  of  Lee.  An 
order  setting  forth  Lee's  line  of  march  was 
picked  up  in  D.  H.  Hill's  deserted  camp, 
and  taken  to  McClellan,  who  then,  of  course, 
knew  just  where  to  strike  Lee. 

On  the  morning  of  the  19th,  a  force  of 
Federals  crossed  the  Potomac  at  Boteler's 
ford,  but  were  met  by  A.  P.  Hill's  division 
of  Jackson's  corps,  and  driven  back  into  the 
river  with  great  loss.     On  the  northern  side 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEN.  THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        191 

of  the  river,  seventy  large  cannon  were 
planted,  which  rained  grape-shot  upon  the 
Southern  men,  but  they  rushed  forward  and 
hurled  hundreds  of  the  Federals  into  the 
water,  and  then  picked  them  off  with  steady 
aim  until  the  river  was  black  with  floating 
x  bodies. 

While  this  was  going  on,  a  messenger 
from  General  Lee  found  Jackson  watching 
the  progress  of  the  light.  His  only  remark 
was,  "With  the  blessing  of  Providence, 
they  will  soon  be  driven  back."  McClellan 
made  no  further  attempt  to  follow  Lee. 

For  some  weeks  Lee's  army  lay  quietly 
resting  in  the  lower  Valley.  But  Jackson 
was  never  idle.  He  was  now  busy  in  get- 
ting clothes  and  shoes  for  his  men,  and 
filling  up  the  ranks  which  had  been  so 
thinned  during  the  summer.  His  regiments 
were  at  the  time  filled  up  by  the  return  of 
the  sick  and  the  foot-sore  and  by  new  re- 
cruits. 

Jackson  had  now  become  the  idol  of  his 


192        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

men.  Their  pet  name  for  him  was  "Old 
Jack."  Whenever  he  rode  by  they  would 
cheer  themselves  hoarse;  and  his  devotion 
to  them  was  just  as  great.  This  story  is 
told  of  him  by  an  eye-witness  of  the  scene: 
"When  Jackson's  men  were  on  their  famous 
march  to  Manassas,  at  the  close  of  the  first 
day,  they  found  Jackson,  who  had  ridden 
forward,  dismounted,  and  standing  upon  a 
great  stone  by  the  road-side.  His  sun-burned 
cap  was  lifted  from  his  brow  and  his  blue 
eyes  gleamed  in  the  rays  of  the  setting  sun. 
His  men  burst  forth  into  cheers,  but  he  at 
once  sent  an  officer  to  request  that  there  be 
no  cheering,  as  it  might  betray  their  presence 
to  the  enemy.  Instantly  the  cheering 
stopped,  but  as  they  passed  their  General 
their  eyes  told  what  their  lips  could  not 
utter — their  love  for  him.  Jackson  turned 
to  his  staff,  his  face  beaming  with  delight, 
and  said,  'Who  could  not  conquer  with  such 
troops  as  these? ' "  Well  might  he  be  proud 
of  men  who  had  been  marching  and  fighting 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        193 

for  five  days,  many  of  them  having  no  rations 
and  living  upon  green  corn  found  along  the 
way,  yet  whose  courage  and  devotion  knew 
no  bounds! 


CreVcent,  shaped  like  the  new  moon. 

Bar'rier,  a  bar,  a  defense. 

Swamp,  soft,  low,  and  spongy  ground. 

De-vo'-tion,  love. 

Re-veal-ing,  making  known. 

Can  you  describe — 

McClellan's  position    on  the    Chickahominy 

river  ? 
The  charge  of  Jackson's  men  at  "Old  Cold 

Harbor"? 
The  battle  of  Malvern  Hill  ? 
The  second  battle  of  Manassas  ? 
The  capture  of  Harper's  Ferry  ? 
The  battle  of  Antietam  ? 


194        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 


CHAPTER  IX. 
A   Lieutenant- General. 

While  our  hero  was  in  the  lower  Valley, 
on  the  11th  of  October,  1862,  the  Confed- 
erate Government  bestowed  upon  him  the 
rank  of  Lieu  tenant-General,  next  to  the 
highest  grade  in  the  service.  General  Lee's 
army  was  now  divided  into  two  great  corps, 
one  of  which  was  given  to  Jackson,  the 
other  to  Longstreet.  These  generals  have 
been  called  the  "two  hands"  of  Lee. 

On  the  18th  of  October,  General  Jackson's 
corps  was  sent  forward  to  destroy  the  Balti- 
more and  Ohio  railroad.  This  they  did  in 
the  most  complete  way.  Burning  all  the 
bridges  and  ripping  up  the  cross-ties,  they 
finished  their  work  by  setting  fire  to  the  ties 
and  throwing  the  iron  rails  upon  the  heaps 
of  blazing  logs. 

After  the  work  was  done,  Jackson  rode 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        195 


over  the  whole  distance,  thirty  miles,  to  see 
that  the  destruction  was  complete. 

Towards   the    end   of    October,    Jackson 
moved  his  corps 


near  the  Blue 
Eidge  mountains 
to  watch  the 
movements  of 
McClellan,  who 
was  again  cross- 
ing the  Potomac 
with  a  vast  army 
of   one    hundred 

and  forty  thou- 
sand TTIPn  General  James  Longstreet. 

But  McClellan' s  movements  were  so  slow 
that  he  was  removed  from  his  command, 
and  General  Burnside  was  put  in  his  place. 

The  latter  general  resolved  to  try  a  new 
way  to  Kichmond,  and  moved  his  army 
towards  Fredericksburg,  on  the  Eappahan- 
nock  river.  General  Lee  at  once  marched 
jbo  that  town  to  meet  him.     General  Jackson 


196        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

was  called  from  the  Valley  to  the  help  of 
Lee,  and  reached  that  general's  camp  on  the 
1st  of  December.  The  Southern  army  num- 
bered in  all  about  sixty-five  thousand  men. 
Of  these,  there  were  in  Jackson's  corps 
twenty-five  thousand. 

General  Lee,  with  his  two  corps,  was  now 
upon  the  heights  south  of  the  Rappahannock 
river;  while  General  Burnside,  with  five 
corps,  held  Stafford  Heights,  north  of  that 
river.  The  town  of  Fredericksburg  was 
between  the  two  armies.  The  winter  set  in 
early,  and  both  armies  suffered  greatly  from 
the  cold.  The  Confederates  were  for  the 
most  part  barefooted,  without  tents  and 
warm  clothes,  and  had  only  rations  of  fat 
meat  and  corn  bread;  but  these  trials  did 
not  lessen  their  valor.  They  dug  out  trenches 
and  threw  up  breastworks,  and  waited  for 
the  advance  of  the  enemy. 

On  the  10th  of  December,  General  Burn- 
side  began  to  move  his  men  over  the  river 
on  pontoon  bridges.     One  hundred  and  fifty 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        197 

big  guns  on  Stafford  Heights  poured  shot 
and  shell  upon  the  town  of  Fredericksburg, 
setting  it  on  fire  and  causing  many  of  the 
people  to  leave  their  homes.  By  the  morn- 
ing of  the  13th,  ninety  thousand  Federals 
had  crossed  the  river.  Longstreet  held  the 
Confederate  left  while  Jackson  held  the  right. 

The  battle  began  by  a  fierce  attack  upon 
Jackson's  right,  which  onset  was  bravely 
met ;  for  the  men,  fighting  fiercely,  drove  the 
Federals  back  to  the  cover  of  their  big  guns. 
At  eleven  A.  M.,  the  Federals  assaulted 
Longstreet' s  position,  but  again  and  again 
they  were  driven  back  by  the  Confederates, 
who  did  not  fire  until  the  foe  was  close  upon 
them.  Charge  after  charge  was  made  by 
the  Federals,  but  to  no  purpose,  for  the  grim 
Confederates  held  their  own. 

When  night  came,  thirteen  thousand  Fed- 
erals lay  dead  or  wounded  upon  the  frozen 
plain,  while  the  Confederates  had  lost  five 
thousand  brave  men. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  Jackson  ordered  a 


198        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

night  attack  upon  Burnside's  beaten  army, 
hoping  thereby  to  turn  a  defeat  into  a  rout, 
and  to  drive  them  pell-mell  into  the  river,  as 
he  had  done  at  Boteler's  ford;  but  his 
better  judgment  told  him  that  it  was  unwise 
to  send  his  men  against  the  strong  works 
along  the  river  road,  under  the  fierce  fire  of 
the  cannon  on  Stafford  Heights. 

So  he  recalled  the  order,  and  thus  lost  the 
chance  of  a  decisive  victory;  for  Burnside 
did  not  offer  battle  again,  but  on  the  night 
of  the  16th,  in  the  midst  of  a  great  storm 
of  wind  and  rain,  withdrew  his  forces  to 
their  post  on  Stafford  Heights. 

Both  armies  now  went  into  winter  quar- 
ters. Jackson's  corps  built  huts  in  the 
forests,  and  made  themselves  as  comfortable 
as  possible,  while  their  General  accepted  for 
his  lodgings  a  cottage  at  Moss  Neck,  the 
home  of  Mr.  Corbin.   - 

Here  he  set  to  work  to  write  out  reports 
to  the  government  of  his  wonderful  battles. 
This  he  did  with  great  clearness  and  regard 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J  JACKSON.        199 

for  the  truth,  recording  briefly  the  exploits 
of  his  little  army. 

Never  had  general  a  more  glorious  story 
to  relate! 

Since  the  battle  of  Kerns  town,  in  March, 
these  brave  men  had  fought  the  big  battles 
of  McDowell,  Cross  Keys,  Port  Republic, 
Cold  Harbor,  Malvern  Hill,  Cedar  Run, 
Manassas,  Harper's  Ferry,  Antietam,  and 
Fredericksburg — marched  hundreds  of  miles, 
and  captured  thousands  of  prisoners.  Never 
had  they  quailed  in  battle;  when  ammu- 
nition had  given  out  they  fought  with 
stones,  and  when  there  had  been  no  rations, 
they  lived  on  roots  and  berries.  So 
rapidly  did  they  march  from  place  to 
place  that  they  were  called  the  "foot  cav- 
alry," and  the  knowledge  that  Jackson  was 
"lost,"  cast  terror  into  the  ranks  of  the  foe. 
Even  their  best  generals  could  not  tell  where 
Jackson  would  next  be  found. 

"During  the  battle  of  Cold  Harbor," 
relates  one  of  Jackson's  men,   "as  we  were 


200        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

taking  back  some  prisoners,  one  of  them 
said:  "You  think  that  you  are  doing  great 
things  here,  but  I  tell  you  we  are  whipping 
'Old  Jack'  in  the  Valley  like  smoke." 
"Well,  maybe  you  are,"  said  I,  "being  as 
'Old  Jack'  is  here.  You've  been  fighting 
his  men  all  day." 

Just  then,  Jackson  rode  by  with  his  staff. 
"There's  our  General,"  said  I;  "now,  how 
much  are  you  whipping  us  in  the  Valley?" 
The  man  looked  dazed,  and  said,  "Well,  my 
stars,  if  that  ainH  'Old  Jack!'" 

Indeed,  the  feats  of  Jackson  had  now  made 
him  famous.  Not  only  his  own  people,  but 
strangers  from  Europe  made  visits  to  the 
camp  to  see  the  great  general  and  his  men. 

During  these  months  of  rest,  Jackson 
enjoyed  greatly  the  visits  of  General  Stuart, 
who  made  the  mess  merry  with  his  jokes 
and  gay  laughter.  He  also  made  the  ac- 
quaintance of  little  six-year-old  Jane  Corbin, 
who  lived  near  by  in  the  big  house. 

Every  evening  when  the  work  of  the  day 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        201 

was  over,  she  would  run  across  to  see  the 
General,  who  would  always  have  some  little 
present  for  her.  One  evening,  having  no 
other  gift  for  her,  he  ripped  off  the  one  band 
of  gold  braid  from  around  his  new  cap,  and 
placed  it  upon  her  sunny  brow. 

This  lovely  child  lived  only  a  few  months 
thereafter.  The  very  day  on  which  General 
Jackson  left  Moss  Neck  in  the  spring,  little 
Jane  was  seized  with  scarlet-fever  and  died 
after  being  ill  only  one  day.  General  Jack- 
son mourned  greatly  for  his  little  friend. 
About  the  same  time  he  heard  of  the  illness 
of  his  own  baby  daughter,  whom  he  had 
never  seen. 

He  had  never  had  a  furlough  since  leaving 
Lexington,  and  in  April,  since  he  could  not 
visit  his  dear  ones,  they  came  to  him.  He 
found  a  quiet  home  for  his  wife  near  by,  and 
great  was  his  pleasure  in  nursing  and 
caressing  his  little  daughter.  He  gave  her 
his  mother's  name — Julia. 


H 


General  Jackson  crowning  Jane  Corbin. 


(202) 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   TEOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        203 

During  the  winter,  at  Moss  Neck,  the  piety 
of  General  Jackson  seemed  ever  to  increase. 
His  chief  thought  was  to  live  for  the  glory 
of  God.  He  often  worshiped  with  his  men 
in  the  log  church  which  they  had  built  in 
the  forest,  and  toiled  early  and  late  for  their 
welfare. 

Cooke,  the  historian,  tells  us  that  one  day, 
while  talking  with  a  member  of  his  staff 
about  the  great  battle  which  he  knew  would 
soon  take  place,  he  said:  "My  trust  is  in 
God."  A  brief  silence  followed  these  words, 
and  then,  rising  to  his  feet,  he  exclaimed, 
with  flashing  eyes,  "I  wish  they  would 
come." 

The  spirit  of  battle  was  upon  him,  and  he 
longed  to  go  forward  to  the  fray,  which 
proved  to  be  the  last,  but  not  least,  of  his 
wonderful  exploits. 

General  Burnside  had  been  removed  from 
command  of  the  Federal  army  after  the  bat- 
tle of  Fredericksburg,  and  General  Hooker, 
"Fighting  Joe,"  as  he  was  called,  was  put 


204        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.  THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

in  his  place.  His  army  now  numbered  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men. 

General  Lee's  army,  to  the  number  of  forty- 
rive  thousand  men,  lay  entrenched  upon  the 
southern  banks  of  the  Rappahannock  river. 
General  Longstreet's  corps  was  now  absent 
in  Suffolk  county,  so  Lee  had  not  one-third 
as  many  men  as  Hooker. 

Hooker's  plan  was  to  divide  his  army  into 
two  parts.  The  smaller  part  was  to  cross 
the  river  near  Fredericksburg  and  engage 
the  Confederates  in  battle,  while  the  larger 
part  would  march  up  the  northern  bank  of 
the  Rappahannock  river,  and,  crossing  over, 
reach  the  flank  of  Lee's  army,  which  would 
thus  have  the  foe  in  front  and  also  in  the 
rear.  At  the  same  time  Hooker  planned  to 
send  a  large  troop  of  cavalry  to  reach  and 
destroy  the  railroads  leading  to  Richmond, 
thus  cutting  General  Lee  off  from  the  capital. 

This  was  a  bold  plan,  but  one  that  was 
easily  guessed  by  such  soldiers  as  Lee, 
Jackson,  and  Stuart.     The  last  named  kept 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.  THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 


205 


watch,  and  as  soon  as  a  movement  was 
made,  reported  it  to  Lee.  Lee  at  once  fell 
back  to  Chancellorsville,  but  not  until  the 
main  army  under  General  Hooker  himself 
had  reached  "The  Wilderness"  beyond 
Chancellorsville,    and     thrown     up    strong 


Lee,  Jackson,  and  Stuart  at  tJie  battle  of  Fredericksburg. 

earthworks.  The  left  wing  of  Hooker's 
army,  under  General  Sedgwick,  crossed  the 
river  below  Fredericksburg  on  the  29th  of 
April,  and  was  at  once  met  by  Jackson, 
who  was  ever  watchful.  Sedgwick,  however, 
did  not  intend  to  fight,  but  merely  to  keep 


206        TEE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

General  Lee  at  Fredericksburg  while  Hooker 
was  gaining  the  point  on  Lee's  flank.  Gen- 
eral Lee  promptly  guessed  the  plan,  and 
ordered  General  Jackson  to  leave  only  one 
division  in  front  of  Sedgwick,  to  proceed  at 
once  in  search  of  Hooker,  and  to  attack  and 
repulse  him.  This  order  reached  Jackson 
about  eight  P.  M.,  and  by  midnight  his 
troops  were  on  the  march.  Early  the  next 
day  they  reached  the  battle-field,  where  the 
troops  of  General  Anderson  were  already 
engaged  with  the  enemy. 

Jackson  halted  his  column,  and  sending 
four  brigades  to  the  support  of  Anderson, 
drew  up  the  remainder  of  the  corps  in  line 
of  battle  upon  a  ridge  near  by.  The  battle 
raged  fiercely  all  day,  and  when  night  came, 
the  Confederates  had  reached  Hooker's  first 
line  of  entrenchments,  in  the  midst  of  the 
dense  forest. 

Meanwhile  General  Lee  had  come  up  with 
the  remainder  of  the  army,  and  a  sharp  fight 
had  taken  place  in  front  of  Hooker's  right 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        207 

wing.  Night  put  an  end  to  the  contest, 
when,  weary  and  worn,  both  armies  lay  down 
to  rest  upon  the  battle-field. 

When  Lee  and  Jackson  met  that  night 
they  were  joined  by  General  Stuart,  who 
told  them  that,  though  General  Hooker  had 
strongly  fortified  his  position  upon  the  east, 
south,  and  southwest,  upon  the  north  and 
west  he  had  left  it  open.  Jackson's  quick 
mind  at  once  planned  to  attack  Hooker  in 
the  rear,  just  as  Hooker  had  planned  to 
attack  Lee. 

To  the  northwest,  there  were  no  earth- 
works, and  if  Jackson  could  surprise  the 
Federals  he  would  be  almost  sure  of  victory. 
Stuart  was  there  with  his  gallant  horsemen 
to  cover  this  movement,  and  the  forests  were 
so  dense  that  Jackson  was  sure  of  leading 
his  men  silently  to  the  rear  of  Hooker. 

General  Lee  listened  to  his  arguments, 
and  finally  gave  consent  for  his  great  lieu- 
tenant to  make  the  trial.  He  (General  Lee) 
would  remain  with  two  divisions  in  front  to 


208        TEE  LIFE  OF  GEN   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

engage  Hooker,  while  Jackson  would  marcn 
around  and  strike  him  in  the  rear. 

By  the  aid  of  his  chaplain,  Rev.  Mr.  Lacy, 
who  knew  that  country  well,  General  Jack- 
son found  a  road  which  would  lead  him  to 
the  rear  of  Hooker's  army.  By  sunrise  he 
was  in  the  saddle  at  the  head  of  his  column. 
General  Stuart  was  there  to  cover  his  line 
of  march,  and  his  troops,  knowing  at  once 
that  their  General  was  making  one  of  his 
famous  flank  movements,  went  forward  at  a 
rapid  pace.  We  are  told  by  Dr.  McGuire, 
who  was  with  Jackson,  that  on  the  march 
they  were  met  by  General  Fitz.  Lee,  who 
told  Jackson  that  he  would  show  him  the 
whole  of  Hooker's  army  if  he  would  go  to 
the  top  of  a  hill  near  by.  They  went 
together,  and  Jackson  carefully  viewed 
through  his  glasses  the  Federal  command. 
He  was  so  wrapped  up  in  his  plans  that  on 
his  return  he  forgot  to  salute  or  thank  Fitz. 
Lee,  but  hurried  on  to  the  column,  where  he 
ordered  one  of  his  aides  to  go  forward  and 


THE  LIFE   OF  GEN.    THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        209 

tell  General  Rodes  to    cross  the  plank  pad 
and  *go   straight    on    to  the  turnpike,   and 
another  aide  to  go  to  the  rear  of  the  column 
and  see  that  it  was  kept  closed  up,  and  all 
along   the  line  he  kept  saying,    "Press  on, 
press  right  on."    The  fiercest  energy-  seemed 
to    possess  him.     When  he  arrived  at    the 
plank  road  he  sent  this,  his  last,    message 
to  Lee:     "The  enemy  has  made  a  stand  at 
Chancellorsville.     I  hope  as  soon  as  practi- 
cable to  attack.     I  trust  that  an  ever  kind 
Providence  will  bless  us  with  success."     At 
three  P.  M.,  having  inarched  fifteen  miles, 
he  had  reached  the  old   turnpike,  and  was 
exactly  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  enemy  to 
that  held  by  General  Lee. 

He  had  left  the  Stonewall  Brigade,  under 
General  Paxton,  on  the  plank  road,  with 
orders  to  block  the  way  to  Germanna  ford. 
He  found  the  outposts  held  by  Stuart's  vigi- 
lant troopers,  who  had  guarded  well  his 
advance.  As  soon  as  possible  he  formed 
his   army   in   three  lines — the   division   of 


210        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

Rodes  in  front,  that  of  Colston  next,  and 
A.  P.  Hill's  in  the  rear.  Between  five  and 
six  P.  M.  the  word  was  given,  and  the  lines 
marched  forward  into  the  forest. 

The  thickets  were  so  dense  that  many  of 
the  soldiers  had  the  clothes  torn  from  their 
backs,  but  on  they  went,  sometimes  creep- 
ing to  get  through  the  thick  undergrowth. 
After  a  march  of  two  miles  they  came  sud- 
denly upon  the  right  wing  of  Hooker's  army. 
The  men  were  scattered  about,  cooking  and 
eating  their  suppers,  wholly  unconscious  of 
the  approach  of  the  dreaded  Jackson.  With 
a  wild  yell,  the  Confederates  dashed  forward 
and  drove  the  enemy  pell-mell  through  the 
forests  for  three  miles.  Jackson's  only  order 
was  "Press  forward,"  and  onward  rushed  his 
devoted  men  after  the  terrified  fugitives. 

At  eight  o'clock  the  line  of  Rodes  was 
within  a  mile  of  Chancellorsville,  still  in  the 
forest,  when  General  Jackson  ordered  the 
fresh  troops  of  A.  P.  Hill  to  advance  to  the 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        211 

front  to  relieve  those   of  Kodes,    who   were 
worn  out  with  marching  and  fighting. 

He  knew  that  Hooker  would  send  forward 
other  troops,  so  he  went  to  the  front  himself 
to  get  his  men  in  order.  As  he  rode  along 
the  line  he  would  say,  "Men,  get  into  line! 
G-et  into  line ! "  Turning  to  Colonel  Cobb,  he 
sent  him  to  tell  General  Eodes  to  take  pos- 
session of  a  barricade  in  front,  and  then  rode 
away  towards  the  turnpike. 

But  before  the  broken  ranks  of  Bodes 
could  gain  the  barricade  Hooker  sent  forward 
a  large  body  of  fresh  troops,  and  the  battle 
was  renewed  all  along  the  line. 

It  was  now  ten  o'clock,  and  the  pale  moon 
sent  her  silvery  rays  down  into  the  heart  of 
the  dismal  Wilderness,  whose  echoes  awoke 
to  the  sound  of  tramping  feet,  the  rattle  of 
musketry,  and  the  groans  of  the  dying. 
Through  moonlight  and  shadow,  with  these 
sounds  ringing  in  his  ears,  Jackson  rode  for- 
ward to  his  death. 

After  riding  up  the  turnpike  a  short  dis- 


212        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.  THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

tance,  lie  found  the  enemy  advancing.  Turn- 
ing, he  rode  back  rapidly  towards  his  own 
line..  The  Southern  men  lying  hid  in  the 
thickets,  thinking  that  Jackson  and  his  staff 
were  a  squad  of  Northern  cavalry,  opened  a 
rapid  fire  upon  them.  So  deadly  was  their 
aim  that  nearly  every  horse  in  the  party  was 
killed.  Two  officers  were  killed,  others  hurt, 
and  General  Jackson  himself  was  wounded 
three  times.  His  left  arm  was  broken  just 
below  the  shoulder  joint,  and  was  also 
wounded  lower  down.  A  third  ball  had 
entered  the  palm  of  his  right  hand  and 
broken  two  bones. 

His  left  hand,  so  cruelly  hurt,  dropped  by 
his  side,  and  his  horse,  no  longer  controlled 
by  the  reins,  ran  back  towards  the  enemy. 

As  the  horse  galloped  between  two  trees, 
he  passed  beneath  a  low  bough,  which 
struck  his  rider  in  the  face,  tore  off  his  cap, 
and  threw  him  violently  back  in  the  saddle. 
He  did  not  fall,  however,  but  grasped  the 
reins    with   his    bleeding    right    hand,    and 


TEE  LIFE  OF  OEN.   THOMAS  J.  JaCKSON.        213 

turned  him  back  into  the  road.  There, 
the  General  found  the  greatest  confusion. 
Horses,  mad  with  pain  and  fright,  were 
running  in  every  direction,  and  in  the  road 
lay  the  wounded  and  dying. 


WJiere  General  Jackson  fed. 


Oaptain  Wilbourne,  one  of  Jackson's 
aides,  now  seized  the  reins  and  stopped  his 
horse.  Seeing  that  the  General  was  badly 
hurt,  he  lifted  him  from  the  saddle,  almost 
fainting  from  the  loss  of  blood.     He    was 


214        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.  TB0MA8  J.  JACKSON. 

then  laid  down  by  the  side  of  the  road,  his 
head  resting  upon  Captain  Wilbourne's 
breast,  while  a  messenger  went  to  summon 
Dr.  McGuire,  his  chief  surgeon.  Soon  Gen- 
eral Hill  came  up,  and,  pulling  off  the  Gen- 
eral's gauntlets,  found  that  his  left  arm 
was  broken. 

As  the  enemy  were  not  far  off,  his  arm 
Was  quickly  bandaged  with  a  handkerchief, 
and  he  attempted  to  walk.  But  after  they 
had  gone  a  few  steps  a  litter  was  brought, 
and  the  General  was  placed  upon  it. 

The  litter  was  hardly  in  motion  when  the 
fire  from  the  guns  of  the  enemy  became  terri- 
ble. Many  men  were  struck  down  by  it, 
among  whom  were  General  Hill  and  one  of 
the  bearers  of  the  litter. 

The  litter  was  placed  upon  the  ground, 
and  the  officers  lay  down  by  it  to  escape 
death. 

After  awhile  the  fire  changed,  and  Jackson 
rose  to  his  feet  and  walked  slowly  on,  lean- 
ing upon  two  members  of  his  staff.     General 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEJUT.  THOMAS  J.  JAOKSOK        215 


General  Pender. 


Pender,  coming  up,  saw  by  the  moonlight 
that  General  Jackson  was  badly  hurt.  "Ah ! 
General,"  said  he,  "I  am  sorry  to  see  that 
you  have  been  wounded.  The 
lines  here  are  so  much  broken 
that  1  fear  we  will  have  to 
fall  back." 

Though  almost  fainting, 
Jackson  raised  his  head,  and 
said  :  "You  must  hold  your 
ground,  General  Pender!  You  must  hold 
your  ground!"  This  was  the  last  order  of 
Jackson  on  the  field. 

The  General,  being  very  faint,  was  again 
placed  on  the  litter,  and  the  whole  party 
moved  through  the  forest  towards  the  hos- 
pital at  Wilderness  Eun. 

As  they  were  going  slowly  through  the 
undergrowth,  one  of  the  men  caught  his 
foot  in  a  grapevine  and  fell,  letting  the  litter 
fall  to  the  ground. 

Jackson  fell  upon  his  wounded  shoulder, 
and  for  the  first  time  groaned  most  piteously. 


General  Jackson? s  last  order  on  the  field  : 
You   must  hold  your  ground,  General  Pender!     You  must  hold  your 
ground!" 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        217 

With  great  difficulty  they  made  their  way 
until  they  came  to  a  place  in  the  road  where 
an  ambulance  was  waiting.  The  General 
was  placed  in  it,  and  was  soon  met  by  his 
surgeon,  Dr.  McGuire,  who,  having  sprung 
into  the  ambulance,  found  the  General 
almost  pulseless. 

Some  spirits  was  given  him,  which  re^ 
vived  him,  and  ere  long  he  was  laid  tenderly 
in  a  camp  bed  at  the  hospital.  Here  he  fell 
into  a  deep  sleep.  About  midnight  he  was 
awakened,  and  told  by  Dr.  McGuire  that  it 
was  thought  best  to  amputate  his  arm. 

"Do  what  you  think  best,  Doctor,"  was 
the  calm  reply. 

The  arm  was  amputated,  and  the  ball 
taken  out  of  his  right  hand  by  the  skillful 
surgeon,  and  he  again  fell  into  a  quiet  sleep, 
which  lasted  until  nine  o'clock  on  Sunday 
morning. 

General  Hill  being  wounded,  General 
Stuart  was  placed  in  command  of  Jackson's 
corps.     He  now  determined  to  wait   until 


218        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

morning  to  attack  the  strong  works  of 
Hooker,  which  were  again  in  front  of  the 
Confederates. 

The  next  morning  Stuart 
thundered  on  the  west,  and 
Lee  on  the  east  and  south. 
When  the  Stonewall  Brigade 
went  forward,  they  shouted,  Gm- J- E- B- 8bmrt- 
"Charge,  and  remember  Jackson!"  "But 
even  as  they  moved  from  their  position," 
says  Dr.  Dabney,  "their  General,  Paxton, 
the  friend  and  former  adjutant  of  Jackson, 
was  killed  where  he  stood.  But  his  men 
rushed  forward,  and,  without  other  leader 
than  the  name  which  formed  their  battle-cry, 
swept  everything  before  them."  At  ten 
A.  M.,  May  3d,  Chancellorsville  was  taken 
by  Lee,  and  the  Federals  took  refuge  behind 
new  barricades  nearer  to  the  river. 

In  the  meantime,  General  Sedgwick,  who 
had  been  left  at  Fredericksburg  by  General 
Hooker,  attacked  General  Early,  and  cap- 
tured a  part  of  his  command.     General  Lee, 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        219 


having  Hooker  in  check,  sent  help  to  Early, 
and  on  Wednesday,  came  up  himself  and 
drove  General  Sedgwick  back  across  the 
river,  where  Hooker  had  already  retreated 
on  Tuesday  night,  May  5th. 

When  General  Jackson 
awoke  on  Sunday  morning, 
May  3d,  he  asked  one 
of  his  aids  to  go  to  Rich- 
mond for  his  wife.  He  had 
sent  her  to  that  city  when 
the  Federals  had  begun  to 
move  across  the  river.     His 

OeneralJubalA.  Early.  -,  1  -.     -, 

mind  was  clear  and  he 
stated  that  if  he  had  had  one  more  hour  of 
daylight,  he  would  have  cut  off  the  enemy 
from  the  United  States  ford,  and  they  would 
have  been  obliged  either  to  fight  their  way 
out  or  to  surrender. 

It  was  now  thought  best  to  take  him  to  a 
more  quiet  place;  so  on  Monday  he  was 
moved  to  Mr.  Chandler's  near  Guinea's 
Depot,  where  every  care  was  taken  to  make 


220        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   TS0MA8  J.  JACKSON. 

him  comfortable.  He  seemed  to  take  much 
interest  in  hearing  of  the  battle  on  Sunday, 
and  said  of  the  Stonewall  Brigade,  "They 
are  a  noble  body  of  men.  The  men  who 
live  through  this  war  will  be  proud  to  say, 
'I  was  one  of  the  Stonewall  Brigade.' " 

He  then  went  on  to  say  that  the  name  of 
Stonewall  belonged  to  the  men  of  the  Brigade 
alone,  as  they  had  earned  it  by  their  stead- 
fast conduct  at  First  Manassas.  He  spoke 
1  also  of  General  Rodes,  and 
said  that  on  account  of 
gallant  conduct,  he  de- 
served to  be  advanced  to 
the  rank  of  major-general. 
The   death  of  General 

i 

Paxton    gave   him   great 


General B.E.  Bodes.        distress,      but      he     grew 

calmer  when  told  of  the   glorious  exploits  of 
his  old  brigade. 

He  was  much  pleased  at  this  noble  letter 
from  General  Lee : 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        221 

"General  : 

I  have  just  received  your  note,  informing  me 
that  you  were  wounded.  I  cannot  express  my 
regret  at  the  occurrence.  Could  I  have  directed 
events,  I  should  have  chosen,  for  the  good  of  the 
country,  to  have  been  disabled  in  your  stead. 

I  congratulate  you  upon  the  victory  which  is 
due  to  your  skill  and  energy. 

Most  truly  yours, 
(Signed)     R.  E.  LEE,   General." 

His  mind  seemed  ever  dwelling  on  relig- 
ious subjects,  and  lie  was  entirely  submissive 
to  the  will  of  God. 

On  Wednesday,  his  wounds  were  doing  so 
well  that  it  was  thought  possible  to  take 
him  by  railroad  to  Richmond.  On  that 
night,  however,  while  Dr.  McGuire  was 
absent  from  him  for  awhile,  he  was  taken 
with  a  severe  pain  in  his  side,  which  was 
in  fact  due  to  pneumonia,  which  had  now 
set  in. 

From  that  time  he  grew  weaker,  and  at 
last  it  was  seen  that  he  could  live  only  a 
few  hours. 


222        TEE  LIFE  OF  GEN.  THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

Mrs.  Jackson  arrived  on  Thursday,  and  to 
her  he  said,  "I  know  you  would  gladly  give 
your  life  for  me,  but  I  am  perfectly  resigned." 
When  his  weeping  wife  at  last  told  him  that 
death  was  near,  he  whispered,  ''Very  good, 
very  good,  it  is  all  right."     He  then  sent 


Julia  Jackson  at  tlie  age  of  four  years. 

messages  to  many  friends,  and  desired  to  be 
buried  in  Lexington,  in  the  Valley  of  Vir- 
ginia. 

His   little    girl  was  now   brought   in    to 
receive  his  last  farewell. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        223 

Upon  seeing  her,  his  face  lit  up  with  a  bright 
smile,  and  he  murmured,  "Little  darling!" 
He  tried  to  caress  her  with  his  poor  maimed 
hand — she  smiling  in  her  delight  at  seeing 
him  again.  Thus,  she  remained  by  his  side 
upon  the  bed  until  it  was  seen  that  he  was 
growing  very  weak. 

Then  his  mind  began  to  wander,  and  as 
if  again  upon  the  battle-field,  he  cried  out: 
"Order  A.  P.  Hill  to  prepare  for  action!" 
"Pass  the  infantry  to  the  front!"  "Tell 
Major  Hawks  to  send  forward  provisions  for 
the  men!"  Then  his  vision  changed,  and 
he  murmured,  "Let  us  cross  over  the  river, 
and  rest  under  the  shade  of  the  trees." 

"The  moment  had  indeed  come,"  says 
Cooke,  "when  the  great  leader  was  to  pass 
over  the  dark  river  which  separates  two 
worlds,  and  rest  under  the  shade  of  the 
Tree  of  Life.  From  this  time,  he  continued 
to  sink,  and  at  fifteen  minutes  past  three  in 
the  afternoon,  on  Sunday,  the  10th  of  May, 
he  peacefully  expired." 


224        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

Pontoon',  a  bridge  built  on  boats. 
Furlough  (fur'lo),  a  short  leave  of  absence. 
Chap'lain,  a  clergyman  of  the  army  or  navy. 
Rations  (or  rash-uns),  a  certain  quantity  of  food 
and  drink. 

Vig'i  lant,  watchful. 

Barricade',  a  hastily-made  fortification. 

Tell  about — 

The  battle  of  Fredericksburg. 
Jackson's  life  at  Moss  Neck. 
Jackson's  march  around  Hooker. 
His  death. 


TEE  LIFE  OF  QEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        225 


CHAPTER  X. 
Upon  the  Roll  of  Fame. 

Upon  hearing  the  news  of  Jackson's 
death,  the  grief  of  the  South  was  equalled 
only  by  the  wish  to  do  him  honor. 

President  Davis  sent  a 
special  train  to  bear  his 
remains  to  Richmond.  He 
also  sent,  as  the  gift  of  the 
country,  the  beautiful  new 
flag  of  the  Confederate 
Congress  to  be  his  wind- 
ing sheet. 

When  the  train  reached  Richmond,  it  was 
met  by  a  vast  concourse  of  weeping  people.  On 
Wednesday,  the  coffin,  preceded  by  military, 
was  borne  from  the  Governor's  Mansion  to 
the  Capitol  through  the  main  streets  of  the 
city.  The  hearse  was  drawn  by  four  white 
horses  and  followed  by  eight  generals  as  pall- 


226        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

bearers.  Then  came  his  horse,  caparisoned 
for  battle,  and  led  by  his  body-servant ;  then 
followed  his  staff,  the  President,  the  Governor 
of  Yirginia,  the  city  authorities,  and  a  vast 
number  of  sorrowing  people. 


"Fancy,"  or  "  Little  Sorrel.  " 
General  T.  J.  Jackson's  War  Horse,  30  Years  Old. 

As  the  procession  moved  along,  cannon 
were  fired  and  bells  tolled.  At  last  the 
Capitol  was  reached  and  the  body  was 
borne,  amid  the  tears  of  the  multitude,  into 
the  building  where  it  lay  in  state  all  day. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  J  A  GK80N.        227 

Twenty  thousand  persons  are  said  to  have 
passed  in  front  of  the  body  to  gaze  for  the 
last  time  upon  their  mighty  chief. 

It  is  said  that  President  Davis  stood  long, 
gazing  at  the  quiet  face,  and  then  in  silence 
left  the  house. 

Old  soldiers  pressed  around  the  bier  with 
tears  streaming  down  their  bronzed  faces, 
while  one  stooped  and  kissed  the  cold  lips 
of  his  beloved  commander. 

The  next  day  the  remains  were  borne, 
attended  by  a  guard  of  honor,  to  Lexington, 
where  they  were  received  by  General  Smith, 
the  corps  of  cadets,  the  professors,  and  many 
sorrowing  citizens.  They  were  borne  to  the 
barracks  of  the  Military  Institute  and  placed 
in  the  old  class-room  of  the  dead  general. 
Every  half  hour,  the  cadet  battery  pealed 
forth  a  fitting  requiem  to  the  great  teacher  of 
artillery  tactics.  Then  "escorted  by  infantry, 
cavalry,  and  artillery,  under  command  of 
Col.  Shipp,  and  borne  to  the  grave  upon  a 
caisson  of  the  cadet  battery,"  he  was  laid  to 


228        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

rest  beside  the  graves  of  his  first  wife  and 
child  in  the  beautiful  cemetery  of  Lexington. 

The  " right  hand"  of  Lee  was  thus  taken 
away  just  as  the  heaviest  stroke  had  fallen 
upon  the  enemy.  General  Lee,  the  army, 
the  whole  South  mourned  for  their  fallen 
hero.  There  were  other  generals  as  brave 
and  true  as  Jackson,  but  none  who  possessed 
his  keen  insight  into  the  movements  of  the 
enemy,  his  celerity  of  action,  and  the  won- 
derful certainty  of  victory  which  made  him 
the  idol  of  his  own  soldiers  and  the  dread  of 
the  foe. 

But  the  renown  of  Jackson  is  not  confined 
to  the  limits  of  his  own  land.  It  has  crossed 
the  ocean,  and  now  the  plans  of  his  battles 
in  the  Valley  of  the  Shenandoah  and  of 
Second  Manassas  and  of  Chancellorsville  are 
studied  by  military  men,  and  used  by  them 
as  models  of  strategy  and  tactics.  All 
English-speaking  people  are  justly  proud 
that  the  greatest  military  genius  of  the  age 
belongs  to  them. 


c 


^7 


Jackson's  Statue  in  Capitol  Square,  Richmond,  Va. 

(229) 


230        TEE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

Not  long  after  the  end  of  the  war,  his 
admirers  and  friends  in  England  presented 
to  the  State  of  Virginia  a  statue  of  Jackson 
in  bronze.  It  was  placed  in  the  Capitol 
Square  in  Kichmond  not  far  from  the  statue 
of  Washington  and  the  great  Virginians  of 
his  time. 

In  the  spring  of  1891,  a  beautiful  and 
imposing  statue  of  our  hero  was  erected  in 
Lexington,  Virginia,  by  his  old  soldiers  and 
friends  throughout  the  South.  On  July 
21st  of  that  year,  it  was  unveiled  in  the 
presence  of  a  vast  multitude  of  people. 

The  anniversary  of  the  First  Manassas, 
when  Jackson,  in  a  "baptism  of  fife,"  re- 
ceived the  new  name  of  "Stonewall,"  and 
flashed  like  a  meteor  upon  the  wondering 
world,  was  thought  a  fitting  day  on  which 
to  display  to  his  countrymen  his  figure  in 
enduring  bronze. 

For  days  and  nights,  the  trains  bore  into 
the  historic  town  crowds  of  soldiers  and 
visitors    from    all    parts    of   the    country. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.  THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        231 

Beautiful  arches  and  mottoes  graced  the 
buildings  and  highways,  and  the  whole  was 
crowned  by  perfect  weather. 

At  12  o'clock,  the  great  parade  moved 
from  the  Virginia  Military  Institute.  Gen- 
eral James  A.  Walker,  the  only  commander 
of  the  Stonewall  Brigade  then  living,  was 
chief  marshal  of  the  day. 

As  the  procession  moved  on,  band  after 
band  of  Confederates  were  seen — battle- 
scarred  veterans  in  the  old  Confederate 
grey,  military  companies  in  bright  uniforms, 
famous  generals  with  bronzed  faces  and 
grizzled  hair,  the  chaplains  of  the  Confed- 
eracy, and  visiting  camps  of  veterans  from 
other  States. 

Following  these  came  the  officers  of  the 
Virginia  Military  Institute  and  Washington 
and  Lee  University.  Finally  came  a  large 
concourse  of  citizens  and  carriages.  Among 
those  in  the  carriages  were  General  Jubal 
A.  Early,  the  orator  of  the  day,  and  his  host, 
General  Custis    Lee ;    the    sculptor    of   the 


232        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

statue,  Edward  V.  Valentine;  Mrs.  General 
T.  J.  Jackson  and  her  son-in-law,  Mr.  Chris- 
tian, and  his  children,  Julia  and  Thomas 
Jackson  Christian. 

At  last,  the  grand-stand  in  the  University 
grounds  was  reached.  After  prayer  and  the 
reading  of  three  Confederate  war  poems, 
"Stonewall  Jackson's  Way,"  " Slain  in 
Battle,"  and  "Over  the  River,"  General 
Early,  clad  in  Confederate  grey,  made  the 
address,  which  gave  a  simple  account  of  the 
great  battles  fought  by  Jackson.  He  was 
greeted  with  hearty  cheers,  and  tears  rolled 
down  the  cheeks  of  many  veterans  as  they 
again  in  memory  fought  and  marched  with 
the  immortal  Jackson. 

At  the  end  of  the  speech  the  procession 
again  formed  and  marched  to  the  cemetery 
where  stood  the  monument. 

At  the  given  signal,  Mrs.  Jackson  and  her 
two  grandchildren,  Julia  Jackson  Christian, 
aged  five  years,  and  Thomas  Jackson  Chris- 
tian, aged  three  years,  mounted  the   steps 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.  233 

of  the  platform.  A  single  gun  sounded,  and 
the  two  children  with  united  hands  pulled 
the  cord  and  let  the  veil  fall,  revealing  to 
admiring  thousands  the  face  and  form  of 
Jackson. 

Cheers  and  shouts  rent  the  air,  while  the 
Rockbridge  Artillery  .fired  a  salute  of  fifteen 
guns  from  the  cannon  which  they  had  used 
at  Manassas. 

The  statue,  eJaA^in  the  uniform  01  a 
major-general,  stands  with  the  left  hand 
grasping  a  sheathed  sword,  upon  which  the 
weight  of  the  body  seems  to  rest.  The  right 
hand  rests  upon  the  thigh  and  holds  a  pair 
of  field  glasses,  which  it  would  seem  that 
the  General  has  just  been  using. 

The  figure  is  eight  feet  high  and  stands 
upon  a  granite  pedestal  ten  feet  tall.  Upon 
the  stone  are  carved  only  the  words,  "Jack- 
son, 1824-1863,"  and  "Stonewall." 

Under  the  monument,  in  a  vault,  rest 
the    remains  of  the   dead    soldier    and    his 

16 


Jackton  Statue  at  Lexington, 


(234) 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.  THOMAS  J.  JACKSON.        285 

daughters,  Mrs.  Christian,  and  Mary  Graham 
who  died  in  infancy. 

The  veterans  lingered  long  about  their 
beloved  hero.  Many  times  had  they  followed 
him  on  the  weary  march  and  through  the 
smoke  of  battle,  and  now  it  seemed  as  if  he 
were  with  them  again  to  lead  them  on  to 
victory. 

At  last,  saluting,  they  marched  in  silence 
away,  carrying  his  image  in  their  memories 
and  the  love  of  him  in  their  hearts. 

Perhaps  it  will  interest  my  readers  to 
have  a  pen  and  ink  portrait  of  Mrs.  Jackson 
at  that  time,  as  given  by  a  leading  journal- 
ist of  the  day.  "Mrs.  Jackson  sat  just 
behind  the  famous  generals.  She  wore  a 
handsome  costume  of  black  silk  trimmed 
with  crepe,  black  gloves,  and  a  crepe  bonnet. 
Her  face  is  a  most  attractive  one.  Her 
black  hair,  still  unmixed  with  grey,  was 
brushed  in  graceful  waves  across  her  fore- 
head.     Her  eyes,  large  and  dark,  sparkled 


236        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

and  filled  with  tears,  as  veteran  after  vet- 
eran pressed  forward  to  grasp  her  hand." 

Not  long  before,  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Chris- 
tian, the  baby  Julia  whom  Jackson  had 
loved  so  well,  had  died,  leaving  two  children, 
Julia  and  Thomas.  These  children  are  the 
only  descendants  of  our  beloved  General. 
At  this  writing,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
1898,  Mrs.  Jackson  is  still  living,  and  to 
her  the  hearts  of  Southern  people  turn  in 
fond  affection,  because  she  was  the  best 
beloved  of  their  mighty  chief. 

But*  not  enough  had  been  done  to  honor 
our  hero.  In  1896,  a  noble  building  called 
the  "Jackson  Memorial  Hall"  was  com- 
pleted at  the  Virginia  Military  Institute, 
and  dedicated  with  fitting  ceremony  to  the 
memory  of  Jackson.  In  these  halls  and 
beneath  the  shadow  of  this  building,  the 
cadets  of  the  South  for  many  long  years  will 
be  trained  for  war.  How  fit  the  place ! 
Near  by  rest  Lee  and  Stonewall  Jackson — . 
mighty  soldiers,  and  Christian  warriors ! 


(237; 


238        THE  LIFE  OF  GEN.   THOMAS  J.  JACKSON. 

There  the  sweeping  winds  proclaim  our 
heroes'  fame,  and  nightly  the  glittering  stars 
chant  in  heavenly  chorus:  "They  shine, 
they  shine  with  our  brightness." 


Ca-is-son,  a  chest  for  ammunition. 
Caparisoned,  dressed  pompously. 
Tac'tics,  the  science  and  art  of  placing  forces 

for  battle. 
Req'uiem,  a  hymn  sung  for  the  dead. 
Vete'ran,  one  who  has  grown  old  in  service. 
P£d'-es-tal,  the  base  of  a  column  or  statue. 

Write  in  your  own  words — 

A  description  of  the  reception  of  General 

Jackson's  body  in  Richmond. 
A  description  of  his  monument  in  Lexington, 
Virginia. 


The  Lone  Sentry. 


By  Jambs  R.  Randall. 


'Twas  at  the  dying  of  the  day, 

The  darkness  grew  so  still, 
The  drowsy  pipe  of  evening  birds 

Was  hushed  upon   the  hill. 
Athwart  the  shadows  of  the  vale 

Slumbered  the  men  of  might, 
And  one  lone  sentry  paced  his  rounds 

To  watch  the  camp  that  night. 

A  grave  and  solemn  man  was  he, 

With  deep  and  sombre  brow; 
The  dreamful  eyes  seemed  hoarding  up 

Some  unaccomplished  vow. 
The  wistful  glance  peered  o'er  the  plain 

Beneath  the  starry  light ; 
And,  with  the  murmured  name  of  God, 

He  watched  the  camp  that  night. 

(239) 


240  SOUTHERN  WAR  POEMS. 

The  future  opened  unto  him 

Its  grand  and  awful  scroll ; 
Manassas  and  the  Valley  march 

Came  heaving-  o'er  his  soul, 
Richmond  and  Sharpsburg  thundered  by 

With  that  tremendous  fight 
Which  gave  him  to  the  angel  host 

Who  watched  the  camp  that  night. 

We  mourn  for  him  who  died  for  us, 

With  one  resistless  moan  ; 
While  up  the  Valley  of  the  Lord 

He  marches  to  the  throne. 
He  kept  the  faith  of  men  and  saints 

Sublime  and  pure  and  bright  ; 
He  sleeps — and  all  is  well  with  him 

Who  watched  the  camp  that  night. 


Observations  of  "  Stonewall's  "  Servant. 

(From  a  well  authenticated  anecdote.) 


MKS.    WaKFIBLD,    BEECnMORB,    Ky. 


"I'll  tell  you  wat,  ole  Cato," 

Quoth  Cuff  by  the  bright  camp-fire, 

"  We's  gwine  to  hab  a  battle  ; 
Nebber  min'  dis  mud  an'  mire, 


SOUTHERN  WAR  POEMS.  241 

Nebber  min  dis  rain  wat  is  fallin' 

Enuff  to  melt  de  stones, 
We's  gwine  to  hab  a  battle, 

I  feels  it  in  my  bones." 

"  You  passes  fur  a  prophit — 

I'se  heerd  dat  all  my  life ; 
An'  you  gibs  me  de  name  ob  '  Foolish' 

Before  my  berry  wife. 
But  fur  all  dat,  I  tells  you 

(Does  you  hear  me,  Cato  Jones  ?) 
We's  gwine  to  hab  a  battle, 

I  feels  it  in  my  bones." 

Then  up  rose  old  Cato, 

That  swart,  yet  reverend  sage, 
With  hair  as  white  as  lamb's  wool, 

And  the  stiffened  limbs  of  age  ; 
Yet  stately  in  his  presence 

And  stalwart  in  his  frame, 
A  man  in  his  Maker's  image, 

And  worthy  his  Roman  name. 

He  grasps  his  thorn-stick  tightly 

As  he  stood  above  the  fire, 
With  a  face  in  which  derision 

Was  blended  well  with  ire ; 


242  SOUTHERN  WAR  POEMS. 

Then,  gazing  down  on  Cliffy 
With  an  eye  intense  with  scorn, 

He  spoke  these  words  of  wisdom — 
"You  feels  it,  try  a  horn  ! 

"  Does  you  tink  de  great  Commander 

Gibs  such  as  you  to  know 
His  orders  to  his  captins 

In  de  night  time,  Cuffy  Crow  ? 
You  hears  de  masta  prayin', 

You  listens  wen  he  groans 
And  dats  de  way  dis  battle 

Am  stirrin'  in  your  bones. 

"  I  seed  your  bead  eyes  twinklin', 

About  de  crack  ob  day, 
When  de  masta  stopped  his  groanin' 

And  'posed  his  mind  to  pray  ; 
But  I  tought  you  knowed  your  manners 

Too  well  to  see  or  hear 
De  soldier  in  de  presence 

Ob  his  hebbenly  brigadier. 

"He  prayed  like  dat  old  King  David 
Wat  loved  de  Lord  so  well ; 

He  called  on  de  God  ob  battles 
For  mo  den  I  kin  tell. 


SOUTHERN  WAR  POEMS.  243 

I  felt  my  har  uprisin', 

Like  Job's,  upon  my  head, 
When  he  'voked  de  precious  sperits 
Ob  our  ole  Virginny  dead. 

"  No  organ  in  white  folks'  churches 

Ebber  pealed  so  grand  a  sound 
As  de  masta's  voice  discoursin' 

'Bout  habbin'  Satan  bound. 
He  prayed  like  dat  holy  Samuel 

Wat  broke  de  pride  ob  Saul ; 
Den  I  knowed  de  white  trash  Linkum 

Boun'  to  hab  anoder  fall.. 

II  Dis  day  dese  words  am  proven, 
.    We  goes  to  meet  de  foe  ; 

It  takes  no  nigga  prophit 

To  guess  dat,  Cuffy  Crow. 
For  whenever  de  masta's  wakeful, 

And  whenever  he  prays  and  groans, 
Why  dem  dat  lies  by  his  camp-fire 

Feel  battle  in  dere  bones." 


244  SOUTHERN  WAR  POEMS. 

Stonewall  Jackson  Mortally  Wounded. 


("The  Brigade  must  not  know,  sir.") 


"Who've  ye  got  there?" — "Only  a  dying  brother, 

Hurt  in  the  front  just  now." 
"  Good  boy  !  He'll  do.     Somebody  tell  his  mother 

Where  he  was  killed,  and  how." 

"Whom  have  you  there?  " — "A  crippled  courier, 
Major ; 
Shot  by  mistake,  we  hear. 
He  was  with  Stonewall." — "  Cruel  work  they've 
made  here ; 
Quick  with  him  to  the  rear  !  " 

"  Well,  who  comes  next  ?  " — "  Doctor,  speak  low, 
speak  low,  sir  ; 
Don't  let  the  men  find  out. 
It's    Stonewall  !"—"  God  !"—"  The    brigade 
must  not  know,  sir, 
While  there's  a  foe  about." 

Whom    have    we    here — shrouded   in    martial 
manner, 

Crowned  with  a  martyr's  charm  ? 
A  grand,  dead  hero,  in  a  living  banner, 

Born  of  his  heart  and  arm : 


SOUTHERN  WAR  POEMS.  245 

The  heart  whereon  his  cause   hung — see   how 
clingeth 
That  banner  to  his  bier  ! 
The  arm  wherewith   his   cause    struck — hark  ! 
how  ringeth 
His  trumpet  in  their  rear  ! 

What  have  we  left  ?     His  glorious  inspiration, 

His  prayers  in  council  met. 
Living,  he  laid  the  first  stones  of  a  nation  ; 

And  dead,  he  builds  it  yet. 


The  Bivouac  of  the  Dead. 


By  Captain  O'Hara. 


The  muffled  drum's  sad  roll  has  beat 

The  soldier's  last  tattoo  ; 
No  more  on  life's  parade  shall  meet 

That  brave  and  fallen  few. 
On  Fame's  eternal  camping  ground 

Their  silent  tents  are  spread, 
And  glory  guards,  with  solemn  round, 

The  bivouac  of  the  dead. 


246  SOUTHERN  WAR  POEMS. 

'"  *  ■    No  rumor  of  the  foe's  advance 
\  Now  sweeps  upon  the  wind, 

No  troubled  thought  at  midnight  haunts 

Of  loved  ones  left  behind  ; 
No  vision  of  the  morrow's  strife 
The  warrior's  dream  alarms  ; 
Nor  braying  horn,  nor  screaming  fife 
At  dawn  shall  call  to  arms. 

Their  shivered  swords  are  red  with  rust, 

Their  plumed  heads  are  bowed, 
Their  haughty  banner,  trailed  in  dust, 

Is  now  their  martial  shroud. 
And  plenteous  funeral-tears  have  washed 

The  red  stains  from  each  brow  ; 
And  the  proud  forms,  by  battle  gashed 

Are  freed  from  anguish  now. 

The  neighing  troop,  the  flashing  blade, 

The  bugle's  stirring  blast, 
The  charge,  the  dreadful  cannonade, 

The  din  and  shout  are  past. 
Nor  war's  wild  note,  nor  glory's  peal, 

Shall  thrill  with  fierce  delight 
Those  breasts  that  never  more  may  feel 

The  rapture  of  the  fight. 


SOUTHERN  WAR  POEMS.  247 

The  Sunny  South. 

Mens  invicta  manet. 


From  the  "Land  wb  Lovb." 


The  Sunny  South  !  the  Sunny  South  ! 

The  land  that  gave  us  birth  ; 
Where  brightest  hopes  have  cheered  our  youth- 

The  land  of  generous  worth. 

The  Sunny  South,  though  cast  in  gloom, 

Still  land  of  beauteous  flowers, 
Exhaling  fragrance  o'er  our  doom      , 

With  sweet,  refreshing  powers. 

The  Sunny  South  !  now  almost  mute, 

Still  land  of  precious  store, 
Where  Nature  yields  her  choicest  fruit 

With  sweetness  crimsoned  o'er. 

The  Sunny  South  !  awake  !  awake  ! 

Rise,  like  your  mountains,  rise  ! 
The  birds  sing  sweetly  for  your  sake, 

Beneath  bright,  genial  skies. 


248  SOUTHERN  WAR  POEMS. 

The  Sunny  South  !  be  high  your  aim — 

Adorn  your  golden  prime ; — 
Unconquered  minds  you  still  can  claim, 

And  make  your  lives  sublime. 

The  Sunny  South  !  heroic,  grand  ! 

Where  high-souled  men  did  dare 
To  bleed  and  die  ! — a  noble  band — 

For  home,  and  for  the  Fair. 

The  Sunny  South  !  let  virtues  blend 

In  thee,  all  lands  above  : 

When  God  propitious  smiles  will  lend, 

And  bless  the  land  we  love. 

c    L.  H. 

"Stonewall"  Jackson's  "Way. 

The  following  verses  were  found,  stained  with  blood,  in  the  breast  of  a 
lead  soldier  of  the  old  Stonewall  Brigade,  after  one  of  Jackson's  battles  in 
the  Shenandoah  Valley: 

Come,  stack  arms,  men  !     Pile  on  the  rails  ; 

Stir  up  the  camp-fire  bright  ; 
No  matter  if  the  canteen  fails, 

We'll  make  a  roaring  night. 
Here  Shenandoah  brawls  along, 
Here  burly  Blue  Ridge  echoes  strong, 
To  swell  the  brigade's  rousing  song, 

Of  "Stonewall  Jackson's  way." 


SOUTHERN  WAR  POEMS.  249 

We  see  him  now — the  old  slouched  hat 

Cocked  o'er  his  eye  askew — 
The  shrewd  dry  smile — the  speech  so  pat, 

So  calm,  so  blunt,  so  true. 
The  "Blue  Light  Elder"  knows  'em  well : 
Says  he,  "That's  Banks  ;  he's  fond  of  shell. 
Lord  save  his  soul !  we'll  give  him — "  well 

That's  "Stonewall  Jackson's  way." 

Silence  !  Ground  arms  !  Kneel  all !  Caps  off! 

Old  "Blue  Light's"  going  to  pray. 
Strangle  the  fool  that  dares  to  scoff ! 

Attention  !  it's  his  way  ! 
Appealing  from  his  native  sod 
In  forma  pauperis  to  God, 
"Lay  bare  thine  arm  !   Stretch  forth  thy  rod  ! 

Amen  !  "     That's  Stonewall's  way. 

He's  in  the  saddle  now  :  Fall  in  ! 

Steady  !    The  whole  brigade  ! 
Hill's  at  the  ford,  cut  off;  we'll  win 

His  way  out,  ball  and  blade. 
What  matter  if  our  shoes  are  worn  ? 
What  matter  if  our  feet  are  torn  ? 
Quick  step  !  we're  with  him  before  dawn  ; 

That's  Stonewall  Jackson's  way ! 


2S0  SOUTHERN  WAR  POEMS. 

The  sun's  bright  lances  rout  the  mists 

Of  morning — and,  by  George ! 
Here's  Longstreet,  struggling  in  the  list, 

Hemmed  in  an  ugly  gorge. 
Pope  and  his  Yankees,  whipped  before  : 
"Bayonets  and  grape  ! "  hear  Stonewall  roar ; 
"Charge,  Stuart !     Pay  off  Ashby's  score," 

In  Stonewall  Jackson's  way  ! 

Ah,  maiden  !  wait,  and  watch,  and  yearn, 

For  news  of  Stonewall's  band  ! 
Ah,  widow  !  read — with  eyes  that  burn, 

That  ring  upon  thy  hand  ! 
Ah,  wife  !  sew  on,  pray  on,  hope  on  : 
Thy  life  shall  not  be  all  forlorn. 
The  foe  had  better  ne'er  been  born, 

That  gets  in  Stonewall's  way. 

The  Phantom  Host. 


By  Father  Ryan. 


My  form  was  wrapped  in  the  slumber 
Which  steals  from  the  heart  its  cares, 

For  my  life  was  weary 

With  its  barren  waste  of  years  ; 


SOUTHERN  WAR  POEMS.  251 

But  my  soul,  with  rapid  pinions, 
Fled  swift  to  the  light  which  seems 

From  a  phantom's  sun  and  planets 
For  the  dreamer  in  his  dreams. 

I  stood  in  a  wondrous  woodland, 

Where  the  sunlight  nestled  sweet 
In  the  cups  of  snowy  lilies 

Which  grew  about  my  feet ; 
And  while  the  Gothic  forest  arches 

Stirred  gently  with  the  air, 
The  lilies  underneath  them 

S>vung  their  censors  pale  in  prayer. 

I  stood  amazed  and  wondering, 

And  a  grand  memoriam  strain 
Came  sweeping  through  the  forest, 

And  died ;  then  rose  again. 
It  swelled  in  solemn  measure, 

Till  my  soul,  with  comfort  blessed. 
Sank  down  among  the  lilies 

With  folded  wings  to  rest. 

Then  to  that  mystic  music 

Through  the  forest's  twilight  aisle 

Passed  a  host  with  muffled  foot-steps, 
In  martial  rank  and  file ; 


252  SOUTHERN  WAR  P0EM8. 

And  I  knew  those  gray-clad  figures, 

Thus  slowly  passing  by, 
Were  the  souls  of  Southern  soldiers 

Who  for  freedom  dared  to  die. 

In  front  rode  Sidney  Johnston, 

With  a  brow  no  longer  wrung 
By  the  vile  and  senseless  slanders 

Of  a  prurient  rabble  tongue  ; 
And  near  him  mighty  Jackson, 

With  a  placid  front,  as  one 
Whose  warfare  was  accomplished, 

Whose  crown  of  glory  won. 

There  Hill,  too,  pure  and  noble, 

Passed  in  that  spirit  train, 
For  he  joined  the  martyred  army 

From  the  South's  last  battle  plain. 
The  next  in  order  followed 

The  warrior-priest,  great  Polk, 
With  joy  to  meet  his  Master, 

For  he  had  nobly  borne  the  yoke. 

There  Stuart,  the  bold,  the  daring, 
With  matchless  Pelham  rode  ; 

With  earnest,  chastened  faces, 
They  were  looking  up  to  God. 


SOUTHERN  WAR  POEMS.  263 

And  Jenkins,  glorious  Jenkins, 

With  his  patient,  fearless  eyes, 
And  the  brave,  devoted  Garnett, 

Journeyed  on  to  Paradise. 

Before  a  shadowy  squadron 

Rode  Morgan,  keen  and  strong, 
And  I  knew  by  his  tranquil  forehead 

He'd  forgotten  every  wrong. 
There  peerless  Pegram  marching 

With  a  dauntless  martial  tread, 
And  I  breathed  a  sigh  for  the  hero, 

The  young,  the  early  dead. 

'Mid  spectral  black-horse  troopers 

Passed  Ashby's  stalwart  form, 
With  that  proud,  defiant  bearing 

Which  so  spurned  the  battle  storm  ; 
But  his  glance  was  mild  and  tender, 

For  in  that  phantom  host 
He  dwelt  with  lingering  fondness 

On  the  brother  he  had  lost. 

Then  strode  the  brave  Maloney, 

Kind,  genial  adjutant ; 
And  next  him  walked  the  truthful, 

The  lion-hearted  Gantt 


254  SOUTHERN  WAR  POEMS. 

There  to  that  solemn  music 
Passed  a  triad  of  the  brave  : 

Lomax,  Phelan,  Alfred  Pinckney — 
All  had  found  a  soldier's  grave. 

They  were  young  and  gentle  spirits, 

But  they  quaffed  the  bitter  cup, 
For  their  country's  flag  was  falling, 

And  they  fell  to  lift  it  up. 
And  then  passed  in  countless  thousands 

In  that  mighty  phantom  host 
True  hearts  and  noble  patriots 

Whose  names  on  earth  are  lost. 

There  "the  missing"  found  their  places— 

Those  vanished  from  our  gaze 
Like  brilliant,  flashing  meteors, 

And  were  lost  in  glory's  blaze. 
Yes,  they  passed,  that  noble  army— 

They  passed  to  meet  their  Lord  ; 
And  a  voice  within  me  whispered  : 

"They  but  march  to  their  reward." 


